By Mark Bennett
On the last play of the first half, Lamar
Grimes dribbled at the top of the key, letting the clock dissolve
from 21 seconds to just eight, before making a move. His choice?
Take it alone inside.
Grimes' layup bounced errantly off the rim,
but it was a pretty bold move for a freshman point guard.
Indiana State fans should remember a guy named
Menser doing something similar in the Missouri Valley Conference
Tournament last March at St. Louis. Now, Michael finished that
play with a deep 3-pointer that found its mark at halftime of
a stunning victory over Creighton. Still, the idea was the same.
The Sycamores are looking for Menser's replacement.
They might have found him in Friday night's 85-68 exhibition
victory over Pella Windows in Hulman Center.
Ryan Sears was playing the point for Creighton
when Menser heaved that bomb over his head in Savvis Center when
the Sycamores won 87-74. And Sears, now graduated like Menser,
played the point for Pella against Grimes on Friday.
Sears had kind words for Menser's likely successor.
"He's solid. He handled the ball well.
He's a good leader on the floor," Sears said of Grimes.
Sounds like all the criteria necessary for
a NCAA Division I point guard.
The pool of potential replacements for Menser
changed last week when sophomore point guard Barry Welsh decided
to leave ISU's program to transfer elsewhere. Welsh spent his
freshman year in the difficult role of stepping in at the point
to give Menser an occasional breather. All he had to do was take
over for the NCAA's cleanest ball-handler in 2000-01 with an
assist-to-turnover ratio of more than 4 to 1.
Now the true point guards are Grimes and junior-college
transfer Batiste Haywood, a walk-on from Hammond. There are other
options. Senior shooting guard Kelyn Block started at the point
in ISU's first exhibition game, a humbling 57-51 loss to Division
II Indianapolis. And sophomore Marcus Howard, another shooting
guard, could be the primary ball-handler in tandem with Block.
But Grimes caught some eyes in the modest
crowd of 4,263 Friday, including Coach Royce Waltman. Fans might
have been surprised by Grimes' drives to the basket, his 11 points,
six assists, two turnovers (that's a 3-1 ratio ... not quite
Menser-like, but still good) and two steals in 29 minutes off
the bench.
Waltman was impressed, not surprised. In fact,
he'd prefer Grimes to be even more assertive, more aggressive.
As a high schooler toiling in the rugged Chicago Public League,
Grimes amassed 26 points, 10 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds
a night for Gage Park.
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| Indiana State junior quarterback
Julian Reese rushed for 207 yards on 27 carries Saturday
in the Sycamores' loss at Illinois State. |
"Lamar is a little different from what
you expect from a freshman point guard," Waltman said. "Probably
his weakness at this point is he's not quite as explosive as
we'd like him to be. But he's already a player that sees things,
and that's a tremendous asset for a point guard. I thought he
took care of the basketball and really saw where to deliver it.
We knew he could do those kinds of things. He's just got to continue
working on his defense so we can keep him in there."
It might just take a little time. Veteran
ISU fans, and Menser himself, would remind everyone that the
Batesville bomber had some shaky moments in his first Sycamore
season.
While Grimes has a penchant for a little more
flash than Michael, he seems to appreciate the importance of
precision as the quarterback of Waltman's motion offense.
"I really don't like turnovers,"
Grimes said, chuckling. Good answer. "But I was just confident
[Friday night]. I feel nobody can really guard me or take the
ball. I'm not careless with the ball."
Nobody? Well, the 18-game grind in the MVC
will certainly test that assertion. But it's nice to hear.
Grimes has some toughness that will help when
the February games blend one into the other. He emerged from
an automobile accident last winter with some cuts around his
left eye, but no lasting effects.
In a week, he'll get a rare opportunity to
display his confidence in his official college debut right in
his hometown. The Sycamores open the 2001-02 season Nov. 18 at
Illinois-Chicago. Grimes is well acquainted with UIC Pavilion
and Coach Jimmy Collins' Flames, who finished 11-17 in the Horizon
League last season.
"It's pretty exciting," Grimes said.
"I know a lot about most of the [Illinois-Chicago] players.
I played with most of them in high school. I know they're very
athletic. Their guards are very good. If we just go out and play
good defense, go after them, we should be OK."
He sounded confident. And that's good.
Mark Bennett can be reached by telephone
at 1-800-783-8742, Ext. 377, by e-mail at mark.bennett@tribstar.com
or by fax at (812) 231-4321.
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