Houston Cougars Land Kansas Transfer Quentin Grimes

• The Houston Cougars have landed former five-star Kansas recruit Quentin Grimes
• Grimes currently is ineligible to play for the Cougars in 2019
• The Kansas Jayhawks are the current favorite in the Big 12

The Houston Cougars have landed a former five-star recruit in Quentin Grimes. While he didn’t have a great year with the Kansas Jayhawks last year, his transfer to Houston could be a game changing moment for the school. Are they a good bet at this point to win it all and what’s the best bet with the Jayhawks at this point? Let’s take a closer look:

Odds To Win 2020 NCAA Tournament

*Odds taken 06/28/19. 

Cougars Land Grimes

Grimes was a five-star recruit with Kansas but he’s coming off a year where he never really found his footing. He averaged just 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 34% form three and 38.4% from the field. He then declared for the NBA Draft but didn’t look great in the combine, so he withdrew.

#ForTheCity ?? pic.twitter.com/9RP3MeiMQf

— Quentin Grimes (@qdotgrimes) June 27, 2019

He decided to return to Texas – his home state – and Houston pounced. For the Cougars, this is a coup because they don’t get their hands on five-star recruits like this. They won 33 games last year, won at least one game in March Madness for the second year in a row and seem like they’re a program on the rise.

Grimes Currently Ineligible To Play

As of this moment, Grimes is not eligible to play next season. As per NCAA transfer rules, he must sit out the upcoming season. However, he did file a waiver with the NCAA in the hopes of being cleared to play immediately. However, don’t expect that to happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFNcicZG-oI

Some reports have suggested the Grimes is making the case that the FBI investigation into Kansas last season impacted his performance. If that’s truly the reason, that’s not going to fly with the NCAA and he’ll have to sit out the season.

Jayhawks Will Be Fine Without Grimes

There’s been non-stop negative press about the Kansas Jayhawks for the last eight months but the truth of the matter is that they simply had a bad year. Losing Grimes isn’t a big deal for them because they have a non-stop parade of high-end talent coming through the door.

Yes, they’ll have to replace three of their top six scorers from last season but they’ll have a core of Devon Dotson, Udoka Azuibuike, Isaiah Moss, Jalen Wilson and many more. It’s no coincidence that they’re the Big 12 favorite after coming off a “down” year.

What’s The Best Bet?

At this point, it’s hard to get on board with the Cougars. They’re odds are at +6600 to win the NCAA Tournament and while I think they do end up having a decent year, I’m not willing to bet them at this point. Remember, this team lost their trio on the perimeter in Galen Robinson, Corey Davis Jr. and Armoni Brooks.

On top of that, we don’t know what the situation with Grimes is but he’s probably not playing with the team this year. If he did, they’d be a Top 25 teams but they don’t have a pedigree of winning championships in Houston. Add it all up and I’ll pass on the +6600.

As for the Jayhawks, they’re a decent bet to win the Big 12. I did like them to win the National Championship when their odds were longer but now they’re down to +800. At this point, I’m not sure there’s much value on the board. However, they can go back to winning the conference as they usually do, so wait for that prop to come up and bet that.