My NCAA Sophomore Crush: Dedric Lawson
By Jonah Jordan
The Memphis Tigers had a tumultuous 2015-16 season, only made bearable by Shaq Goodwin’s glorious smile and Dedric Lawson putting together one of the best freshman seasons in Tiger history.
The 17-year-old was a highly-touted five star prospect coming into his freshman season who reclassified from the class of 2016 to the class of 2015. He was a year younger than his youngest competition throughout the season. Despite that, he carried one of the weakest Memphis teams since the days of Tic Price; averaging 15.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. This is why he’s my sophomore crush.
It was a season that ended in the Tigers missing the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. Lawson’s season didn’t end there, though. He participated in the NBA Combine and worked out with several teams before deciding to return to new head coach Tubby Smith and the Memphis Tigers. It was better for his long term future to be able to be my sophomore crush this season.
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The 6-9, 228 pound center started the season in the post, which was a miscalculation on the part of Memphis’ staff. While Lawson has the capabilities to play in the post, he has a nice turnaround jumper and fantastic vision, he is not a player you want to use primarily as a post player. He put up numbers, including a 22 point and 15 rebound performance in a near upset win over the Oklahoma Sooners, but struggled to score in an efficient manner.
When in the post he gets pushed around and his moves are a bit predictable. Once he gets stronger and has more experience he will have a better chance to dominate in that area of the court. It would help if the Tigers had more than one consistent three-point shooter as the spacing would go a long way. His long arms and good footwork make his ceiling as a post player high.
The Tigers, and Lawson, were at their best when the forward was handling the ball out on the perimeter as it completely opened up the rest of his game. He was able to make plays off the dribble, especially in transition, and be more selective of when he posted up. The change made him a better and more efficient scorer as he ended the season scoring 14 or more points in 12 straight games. In those 12 games he only shot sub 40 percent three times.
Part of Lawson’s early season inefficiency was due to him struggling from beyond the three-point line. Once his shot selection improved and he was on the perimeter some more his shots started falling. He’s a better mid-range shooter than he is a three-point shooter, which he took advantage of on several occasions.
Lawson isn’t a fantastic athlete, he won’t wow anyone with his foot speed or a an incredible dunk. He has long arms and can change speeds quickly, which he uses to his advantage in transition and near the basket. Offensive rebounding is a surprising skill for Lawson to excel at considering his lack of athleticism. He knows where the ball is coming off the rim and is great at putting himself in position for putbacks.
Returning for his sophomore campaign could help propel the Tiger to new heights, under a new coaching staff, or he could fail to improve and I’ll be writing about him again in his junior season.