Analyzing Ricky Council IV, Quentin Grimes, and DeJon Jarreau

March 6^th, 2021

By Alan Lu

Recently, Wichita State has been winning a lot of games lately, and a friend suggested that I should watch them play, especially in case if they were to make the 2021 NCAA Tournament, which could be a real possibility.  I decided to take the time to watch Wichita State play against Houston in a February 18^th game, with thanks to YouTube via The Draftmatic.  This was especially an interesting match, as Wichita State was able to beat a highly ranked team, and so I wanted to get a chance to evaluate some of their prospects, as well as get another look at players on Houston’s team.  Here are my thoughts on how various prospects fared in that game, as well as where they may currently stack up as prospects for the NBA.

Ricky Council IV is an athletic, energetic swingman that played well in his team’s win over Houston.  He may be Wichita State’s best athlete, and he also is a skilled, high-motor player that may have the most upside amongst any player that they currently have on their team.

Council shot the ball very well, especially from downtown.  He excelled at knocking down threes, as he can do so off the catch and dribble, and he was able to make one from way out.  He also drove in and quickly split a double team, but he ended missing on an off-balanced floater from the mid-range another time.

He also showed a decent ability to score off the dribble.  Council has a fairly solid first step to the hoop, and he was able to use a quick ball fake to score on a strong layup in traffic.  He also would go hard to the hoop, and can use dribble moves to frequently draw fouls upon his defenders to get to the free throw line often.  However, sometimes he would take tough, off-balanced shots that would lead to misses, especially when he would not be able to get foul calls.

He also displayed fairly average playmaking skills in this game.  Council handles the ball well, and he was able to swing the ball to an open shooter to notch an assist.  However, on another play, he lost the ball on an aggressive drive to the rim, as the ball slipped out of hands, which led him to commit a turnover that time.

Also, Council was able to chase down balls to get a pair of defensive boards, and he was able to push the ball up court off of a defensive rebound once.  He also leapt up high to try to get an offensive rebound early on, but he had a ball wrestled away from him by an opponent.

Defensively, he looked to be fairly average.  Council was able to contest a three to force a miss, as he used length and activity to close out on a shooter to get the stop.  However, there was one play where he got beat off the dribble to allow a score.  Another time, he didn’t run back to stop the opposing ball handler on the break, as it led his team to allow a dunk instead.

Overall, Ricky Council IV is an athletic, energetic swingman that could be an interesting player to watch in college basketball.  He is a high-motor player that will make solid hustle plays on both ends of the floor, and he can provide a strong scoring punch off the bench.  Though he has flown under the radar as a draft prospect, he has had a good freshman season.  He will likely need to stay in school for at least another season, but if he can continue to play well and progress as an overall player, he could be a second round prospect for the 2022 draft.

Houston’s 6-5 junior guard, Quentin Grimes had a decent showing in his team’s loss to Wichita State.  He is an athletic, skilled shooter that can score the basketball in creative ways, and he has seemed to show a stronger commitment to the defensive end recently.

Grimes did a good job of knocking down jumpers to provide floor spacing for his team on offense.  He excelled as a three-point shooter in this game, especially on pull-up jumpers from beyond the arc.  On one play, he went coast to coast off of a defensive board to score on a quick step-back three.  He also pulled up to make a bank three another time.  However, he had trouble consistently scoring on mid-range jump shots. He also excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  Grimes was able to drive in to score on a powerful dunk in transition.  He also ran the floor to score on a put back after grabbing an offensive rebound.

He also displayed an adequate ability to score off the dribble.  He showed that he can pull up to knock down outside shots, and that he can draw fouls when dribbling off of screens.  However, there was one play where he missed on an acrobatic, switch of hands layup in traffic.

Also, Grimes showed off solid playmaking skills in this game.  He is an unselfish player that will make the extra pass to find the open man, and he also tended to throw good passes off the dribble.  He can make an assortment of passes to his teammates, and he also can find them on the move due to possessing good court sense.  He did commit a turnover once, as he over-dribbled, and lost the ball when handling it that time. He also was able to leap up to get his fair share of boards, as he was able to get rebounds on both ends of the floor.  However, there was one play where he committed an over the back foul when going for a defensive board once.

He also played adequate defense in this game.  Grimes would contest jumpers as well as shots off the dribble to force misses, and he would apply considerable ball pressure to make it difficult for his opponents to pass or handle the basketball.  On the other hand, sometimes he would over-help and give up too much space to shooters to allow scores to them.  Other times, he would take bad gambles, as he was caught chasing after a loose ball despite being nowhere near the area, and he also bit on a pump fake on a drive in transition, which would put him out of position and also would put his team in scramble situations.

In summary, Quentin Grimes is an athletic shooter that has been slowly and steadily improving his game at the collegiate level.  He was once a highly touted recruit at Kansas that had drawn a lot of draft buzz for his strong performances in the high-school All-Star games and in the 2018 Champions Classic.  From there though, there seemed to be considerable pressure for him to bring immediate results to Kansas when he was a freshman, but his play during that year didn’t at all seem to meet the lofty expectations that were placed upon him then.  After his strong Champions Classic performance, Grimes had ended up struggling the rest of the season at Kansas, as he was considered an underachiever as a freshman, and he later transferred to Houston. 

That may be a blessing in disguise, as Grimes now seems to be able to play with more freedom on offense at Houston, as he’s no longer restricted to being merely a low volume, catch-and-shoot, spot-up shooter and secondary ball mover on offense. At Houston, he can lead the break and pull up to knock down threes from pretty far out without having to worry about his playing time getting taken away.

Grimes is putting together his strongest season yet in college basketball, as he is averaging close to 18 points per game, and is currently making 39% of his threes through 21 games that he’s played so far.  He’s even improved his free throw shooting, as it is almost near an 80% clip at the foul line this year.  Houston has allowed Grimes to comfortably play his game, and he has thrived at his new school.  He’s putting himself back into the draft conversation, and he could be an intriguing pick for an NBA team in the second round range of the 2021 draft.

Houston’s 6-5 senior point guard, DeJon Jarreau had a solid showing in his team’s loss to Wichita State.  He was able to make solid plays on both ends of the floor, and he scored 16 points, and made 3 three-pointers in this game.

Jarreau shot the ball very well, especially from downtown.  He showed a knack for making open, spot-up threes off the catch, and he also pulled up to make a wide-open three another time.  On the downside, he missed on a pull-up, mid-range jumper completely, but he generally excelled at knocking down long-range jumpers from beyond the arc.

He also showed a satisfactory ability to score off the dribble.  Jarreau would score on strong drives to the hoop, and he would tend to favor going to his right.  He also would drive hard to the rim in transition to aggressively draw fouls upon his defenders to get to the free throw line often.  Sometimes though, he would take tough, contested shots that would lead to misses.

Also, he displayed fairly good playmaking skills.  Jarreau tended to throw good passes off the dribble, and he can drive and kick balls out to shooters to set up scores for them.  He also threw a long outlet pass to set up a score for a teammate on the break, and he also threw a sharp pass to find a cutter another time.  Sometimes though, he would throw inaccurate passes, as he threw a hasty pass that ended up getting intercepted once. Though he didn’t get many rebounds, Jarreau was able to leap up to get a pair of defensive boards when he was on the floor.

He also played fairly good defense in this game.  Jarreau would run in to intercept passes to get steals, and he also would contest jumpers to force misses.  He also rotated to alter a shot on a drive to get a stop another time.  Sometimes though, he can tend to foul opposing ball handlers on drives to the hoop due to over-aggressiveness.  He also can sometimes be too aggressive in closing out on shooters, which can lead him to being out of position when defending opposing ball handlers.

Overall, DeJon Jarreau had a solid all-around game in his team’s loss to Wichita State.  He is an athletic, high-motor playmaker that can make solid plays on both ends of the floor, and he is one of the best defensive guards in the country.  He has had a very good senior season this year, and he could be an intriguing pick for an NBA team in the second round range on draft day.

Wichita State’s 6-1 sophomore guard, Tyson Etienne had a decent showing in his team’s win over Houston.  He doesn’t possess blazing speed, but he is a subtly agile guard that can shoot and score the basketball, and in this game, he scored 16 points to help his team get the victory.

In this game, he showed an adequate ability to knock down jumpers to provide floor spacing for his team.  Etienne was able to use a nifty behind-the-back crossover move to split a double team when handling the ball, and he then made a smooth pull-up, mid-range floater while getting an extra free throw afterwards.  He also pulled up to make a baseline, mid-range jumper another time.  He did a good job of making mid-range shots in this game.  Also, Etienne was able to make a smooth, step-back three from way out.  He also ran off the ball to make a quick three from well beyond the arc.  However, he was streaky with his outside shot as he also missed plenty of threes, and he would also take contested, deep threes that would miss due to his questionable shot selection in this game.

He also showed an adequate ability to score off the dribble.  Etienne was able to score on a quick, left-handed drive to the hoop.  He also managed to draw free throws on another left-handed drive, and he seemed to prefer going to his left to score the basketball.  However, he seemed to struggle more when going to his right, as he missed on a contested floater, and he also had his shot blocked another time.

Also, Etienne showed off satisfactory playmaking skills in this game.  He will make the extra pass to find the open man, and he can make an assortment of passes to get his teammates the basketball.  Etienne was able to drive and throw a drop-off pass to set up a score for his teammate around the basket, and he also can throw sharp interior passes.  However, he also threw a loopy pass that was dropped out of bounds, and he also had a ball ripped away from on a drive in transition, as he had a teammate open down court, but didn’t make the pass that time.

Though he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Etienne was able to get a board on each side of the ball.  Defensively, he looked to be average at best.  He was able to jump on a loose ball to help his team get a steal.  He also would contest mid-range jumpers, and he also successfully challenged a shot off of a drive to help his team force misses.  On the other hand, he would sometimes over-help in the paint and be late to rotate back, which would lead him to allow opponents to score on three-point shots.  Other times, he would get beat off the dribble, and he also got caught and stuck on a screen that led his team to give up a three-point basket another time.

Overall, Tyson Etienne is a skilled scorer that can shoot the basketball.  He’s not the fastest player, but he is an agile combo guard that handles the ball very well.  He will need to continue to improve as a playmaker, and he will need to make two-point shots more efficiently, as he can be prone to taking questionable shots in games.  He will likely need to stay in school for at least another year.  If he can continue to progress and develop his game, he could end up being a potential second round pick in 2022.

Wichita State’s 6-0, redshirt senior point guard, Alterique Gilbert played very well in his team’s win over Houston.  He scored 16 points, and he made 3 three-pointers to help his team get the victory. Gilbert shot the ball very well, especially from beyond the arc.  He showed a solid ability to knock down threes, as he especially excelled at making open, spot-up threes off the catch.  He also used a quick side step move to his right to make a deep, contested pull-up three another time.  He also took a long two, but missed that time.

He also showed a fairly good ability to score off the dribble.  He is an agile guard that can use either hand to score around the basket, and he also used a pump fake move to score on a tough, acrobatic layup.  Gilbert has good speed and body control to score on drives to the basket, but sometimes he would take tough, off-balanced shots that would lead to misses when he would not be able to get foul calls.

On the downside, he was fairly turnover prone on offense.  For the positives, Gilbert will make the extra pass to keep the ball moving, and he can throw good passes to notch assists.  On one play, he was able to quickly split a double team when handling the ball, and he then threw a nice drop-off pass to set up a score for his teammate around the basket.  However, sometimes he will over-dribble into traffic, which can lead him to lose the basketball or to throw inaccurate passes that would go astray.

Also, Gilbert was able to collect his fair share of boards, as he was able to chase down balls to get rebounds on both ends of the floor due to possessing good athleticism and motor.  He also was able to push the ball quickly up the court off of a defensive rebound.  However, he also was called for a loose ball foul when going for a defensive board once, as he had undercut an opponent from behind when trying to track down a loose ball.

He also defended well when he was on the court.  Gilbert was able to run in to quickly intercept a pass to get a steal, and he also poked a ball away from an opponent to force another turnover.  He also managed to successfully challenge a three-point shot to get a stop another time.

Overall, Alterique Gilbert had a strong showing in his team’s win over Houston.  He is an athletic, skilled guard that can sometimes have some very good games, but he has struggled to consistently shoot well over the years.  Still, he is a player that can score in a variety of ways and score in bunches when he is on his game.  Most likely, he will need to play well in either the G-League and/or overseas when his collegiate career ends, and in a favorable scenario, he could end up finding a way to make an NBA team’s roster sometime down the road.

Wichita State’s 6-8 junior forward, Morris Udeze played well in his team’s win over Houston.  He primarily excelled as a shot blocker and interior defender, and his strong defensive play helped his team get the victory. Udeze excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  He was able to score on a backdoor cut to the hoop.  Plus, he also drew free throws on an offensive rebound attempt late in this match.  He also showed an adequate ability to score in the post.  Udeze was able to draw free throws on a running jump hook after getting the ball on the block midway through this match.

On the downside, he was quite turnover prone in this game.  For the positives, Udeze can pass out of the post, and he will look to find the open man to set up scoring chances for his teammates.  On the downside, he tended to drop catchable passes out of bounds, and he was called for traveling off of an offensive rebound early on.  He was doubled once, and he threw a telegraphed pass that ended up getting intercepted. He also was able to get his fair share of rebounds, and Udeze was able to leap up to get multiple boards on both sides of the ball.

Also, Udeze played good defense in this game.  He did a terrific job of rotating to block shots in the paint, and sometimes he would swat shots to his teammates due to possessing solid length, timing, and instincts to do so.  He generally excelled at contesting and blocking shots in the post to force misses, and he also was able to deflect a pass to nearly force a turnover.  However, sometimes he would sag too far off of shooters, and there was one occasion where he did not even contest a jump shot, which would allow his opponents to score on mid-range shots.  On another play, he rotated but got beat on a drive, and he ended up having to commit a foul that time.

Overall, Morris Udeze had a solid showing, and he especially excelled as a defender in his team’s win over Houston.  He is a good defender that excelled at helping his team protect the paint.  He will need to extend his shooting range and be more assertive on offense moving forward, but he is a solid role player at the collegiate level, and he could end up carving out a lengthy career in professional basketball when his collegiate career ends.

Houston’s 6-7 senior forward, Justin Gorham played fairly well in his team’s loss to Wichita State.  He played a solid all-around game, and he was able to play well on both ends of the floor. Gorham did a good job of scoring in the post.  He was able to use a spin move to score, and he also managed to score on a turnaround jumper another time.  He also used a pump fake to score at the rim on another possession, and he has solid strength, footwork, and scoring touch around the basket.

Also, he shot the ball well in this game.  Gorham was able to make an open, spot-up three off the catch to show his range from beyond the arc.  However, he struggled a bit to score on hustle plays.  He got his shot blocked on a cut to the hoop.  He did manage to use a pump fake to draw free throws on a put back, but he only made one of his two free throws when he was at the foul line.

He displayed fairly average playmaking skills in this game.  Gorham can pass out of the post as well as off the dribble, and he was able to drive and dish to find a teammate to set up a scoring chance for him once.  However, he also threw an inaccurate pass that was dropped out of bounds another time. Gorham did a good job of rebounding the basketball.  In this game, he was able to leap up to get multiple boards on both ends of the floor, and he was especially active as an offensive rebounder against Wichita State.

He also played good defense in this game.  Gorham was able to run in to block a shot off of a drive due to possessing solid athleticism and timing.  He also would jump on loose balls and he also intercepted a dropped pass to help his team get steals.  Plus, he also held his ground when defending in the post, as he was able to contest the shot to force a miss.  On the other hand, there was one play where he bit on a pump fake, which led him to be out of position, and he ended up fouling his opponent on a drive to the basket.

Overall, Justin Gorham has had a solid senior season, and he could be a likely candidate to end up in the G-League or overseas next year.  If he plays well there, he could end up in the NBA sometime in the future.  He will need to be more assertive on offense, but if things break his way, he could project to be a 3 and D type of role player in the NBA sometime down the road.

Wichita State’s 6-5 junior guard, Dexter Dennis had his ups and downs in his team’s win over Houston.  He is an athletic, versatile swingman that can score the basketball in a variety of ways, though he struggled with turnovers and seemed to make plenty of defensive mistakes in this game.

Dennis generally excelled at scoring on hustle plays.  He was able to score on a quick, backdoor cut to the hoop, and he also would draw free throws on strong drives in transition.  He also has a pump fake move that he can use to draw defenders in the air to get fouls on them.  However, he also missed on a contested, rushed put back once after grabbing an offensive rebound.

Also, Dennis shot the ball well from beyond the arc.  He also was able to make a quick, deep three off the catch from well beyond the arc.  Also, he was able to run off the ball to make an open, corner three another time. On the downside, he had trouble scoring on drives and mid-range shots, as he would tend to take tough shots in traffic.

He also was fairly turnover prone on offense.  On one good play, Dennis was able to drive and kick a ball out to a shooter to set up a score for him in transition.  On the downside, he would tend to throw passes that would get intercepted, and he also would commit ball-handling turnovers, as he would sometimes struggle to handle the ball when pressured.

Plus, Dennis did a good job of rebounding the basketball.  He would leap up to get tough boards on both ends of the floor, and there was one possession where he would push the ball quickly up the court after getting a defensive board.

He also played adequate defense in this game.  Dennis did a good job of getting steals, as he was able to poke a ball away from an opposing ball handler, and he also raced in to intercept a pass another time.  He also would contest threes, and he also successfully challenged a floater on a drive to help his team force misses.  Sometimes though, he would be too aggressive on close outs, which would lead him to commit touch fouls.  Other times, he would struggle to guard perimeter players.  He got beat off the dribble once that led to a scramble situation, and he also gave up too much space to allow an opponent to score on a mid-range shot.  He also got caught and stuck on a screen, which forced his teammate to rotate to foul an opponent on a drive to the hoop.

Overall, Dexter Dennis is an athletic, skilled swingman that can do a little bit of everything, but he will need to be a more consistent player in games, and he will need to improve his jump shot and passing ability.  Right now, he may be a long shot to be drafted, but if things break his way, he could end up in the G-Leeague and/or overseas when his collegiate career ends.

Wichita State’s 6-6 senior swingman, Trey Wade had his ups and downs in his team’s win over Houston.  He didn’t take many shots, but he was able to show off versatile scoring skills.  He also was able to make an impressive defensive play, but also made his fair share of defensive mistakes in this game.

Wade did a decent job of scoring in the post.  He was able to score on a powerful, two-handed dunk after getting the ball around the basket.  However, he also missed on a turnaround, fadeaway jumper when getting the ball in the post another time.

He also was able to make an open, corner three to show his range from beyond the arc.  Wade didn’t shoot the ball nearly enough in this game, but he showed that he can knock down shots from all over the floor when he does take them in games.

He also displayed satisfactory playmaking skills.  He threw good passes off the dribble, as he was able to kick a ball out to a shooter to notch an assist, and he also was able to drive and kick a ball out to a cutter to notch another.  However, he threw an inaccurate entry pass that sailed out of bounds.  Another time, he dropped a catchable entry pass after a teammate dropped it that led to a team turnover.

Also, Wade showed a solid ability to rebound the basketball.  He was able to run in to get boards on both sides of the ball due to possessing above average athletic gifts and a solid motor.  On the other hand, he was called for a foul by pushing an opponent down on a defensive rebounding attempt.  On another play, he bit on a pump fake, and committed a foul on a put back another time.

Defensively, he looked to be about average at best.  Wade is at his best when he actively challenges jump shots to force misses.  He was able to rotate to block a mid-range shot due to possessing solid length, athleticism, and timing.  He also managed to alter a shot in the post to get another stop for his team.  On the downside, he would sometimes sag too far off of shooters to allow scores to them.  He also would get beat on moves to the hoop, which would cause him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Trey Wade didn’t seem to stand out in this game, but he was able to make some plays to help his team on both ends of the court.  This season, he has struggled to make shots consistently, and he also does not seem to take enough shots in games.  Right now, he is a long shot to be drafted, but he may have the skills to end up either in the G-League and/or overseas after his collegiate career ends.