Busting Brackets
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Big 12 Basketball: Preseason Player of the Year candidates for 2018-19

By Chris Kern

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: Sagaba Konate #50 of the West Virginia Mountaineers is defended by Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: Sagaba Konate #50 of the West Virginia Mountaineers is defended by Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree #21 of the Villanova Wildcats during the first half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 28: Quentin Grimes #5 of The Woodlands College Park H.S. attacks the basket against Romeo Langford #22 of New Albany High School and EJ Montgomery #3 of Wheeler High School during the 2018 McDonald’s All American Game at Philips Arena on March 28, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 28: Quentin Grimes #5 of The Woodlands College Park H.S. attacks the basket against Romeo Langford #22 of New Albany High School and EJ Montgomery #3 of Wheeler High School during the 2018 McDonald’s All American Game at Philips Arena on March 28, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Quentin Grimes

Quentin Grimes was a star during his senior season of high school. He averaged 29.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. He also made an impact on the defensive end with 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

Grimes is one of the top incoming freshmen for the 2018-19 season. He was the 8th ranked prospect in the ESPN Top 100.  He is also one of the top NBA prospects for next years draft, NBA Draft Room has him going 5th overall to the Orlando Magic.

His talent is why he’s got a shot at this award. Upperclassmen have dominated this award though. The only underclassmen to win the award in the past nine years was freshman Marcus Smart who won the award during the 2012-13 season at Oklahoma State.

He’s capable of winning this award for sure. His biggest threat to the award may be his teammate Dedric Lawson. The Jayhawks are favored to win the conference by multiple games again this season. If that does in fact happen you’d expect a Jayhawk to win this award. If Grimes can outshine his teammate then he has got a good shot at winning this award.

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