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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Monday / November 4.
  • Quentin Grimes, the 6-foot-5, 195-pound point guard from College Park High School (TX), enjoyed his final official visit to Marquette this past weekend and then hosted Kansas coach Bill Self and his staff on Monday.

    Kansas was coming off a 93-87 win over Missouri on Sunday in the Showdown for Relief that raised over $1.75 million for hurricane victims.

    “Coach Self brought his entire coaching staff down to check in with Quentin and watch him workout,” Rhossi Carron, Grimes’ AAU program director with Basketball University, told ZAGSBLOG on Tuesday. “They talked briefly about the scrimmage vs Missouri and the overwhelming support and fan base that follows the KU basketball program; 19,000 fans for a pre-season scrimmage speaks volumes. They also reminded Quentin about the success that Coach Self has had with his guards and the freedom that they have to play offensively. They specifically highlighted the development and success of Frank Mason and the possibility of Graham having a similar breakout senior season. With Graham’s departure, they envision Quentin coming in to have a lead role and be in position to have early success.”

    (Self and his staff later visited 2019 forward Matthew Hurt in Minnesota).

    Zion Williamson, the No. 2 ranked player in 2018 per ESPN.com, will visit North Carolina on an official visit this weekend instead of UCLA.

    “I’m headed to North Carolina this weekend so I’m looking forward to that,” he wrote in his new USA Today blog.

    As first reported here Monday, the 6-foot-5 Williamson is no longer considering UCLA and won’t take his scheduled visit there this weekend.

    Matthew Hurt, the 6-foot-9 forward from Rochester (MN) John Marshall High, had an eventful recruiting weekend with unofficial visits to both Duke and North Carolina.

    The No. 5 player in the 2019 ESPN 60, Hurt had previously visited Kentucky and Indiana in September.

    On Monday, Kansas coach Bill Self and his entire staff flew in and sat down with Hurt, his father, Richard, told ZAGSBLOG. It was Self’s second visit to see Hurt inside a month. (Self and the Kansas staff also visited with 2018 point guard Quentin Grimes.)

    “They talked about their success with big guards/wings over the years like [Andrew] Wiggins, [Kelly] Oubre, [Josh] Jackson, etc.,” Richard Hurt said “Also said they have a way of getting guys out of their comfort zone to help them achieve success at the next level. It was a good visit and conversation.”

    Hurt will trip to Kansas Nov. 17 for the South Dakota State game.

    “We did the ‘Late Night in the Phog’ deal last year,” Richard said. “I think we’re going to go down in mid-November to a game at Kansas against South Dakota State.”

    As for the Duke trip on Friday, Hurt was on campus for “Countdown to Craziness” when 2018 star Zion Williamson visited along with 2019 guys like Armando Bacot and Joey Baker and 2020 Isaiah Todd.

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