SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
When posed the question, AJ Lawson pauses, flashes a smile and responds with a question of his own first.
“My first 10 games?” he asks.
It’s a tricky answer for the top 50 NBA prospect who’s had an up and down start to his sophomore season, but he responds honestly.
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"I’d say they’ve been pretty good. I’ll always say they can be better,” he said. “I feel for myself offensively I can get my teammates involved more and defensively guard my man better and play within the team defense and help my teammates out more.”
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Lawson has been hot and cold to start his second season at South Carolina which really means hot from the offense side and colder when it comes to his defense.
The lanky guard currently leads the team in points per game (15.9), is second in steals (1.2) and three-point percentage (32.7) and fourth in defensive rebounds (2.7) but his head coach’s corrections from him have come on the other end of the court.
“He’s grown. He’s been a little inconsistent, a little, offensively,” Frank Martin said. “His defense has been lacking. What makes it great about coaching him is he understands it. He doesn’t pout and doesn’t run away from it. I think we’ve been able to help him.”
Lawson hasn’t really missed a beat on the offensive side of the ball, ranking in the top 10 percent of all Division I basketball players in offensive rating, true shooting percentage, assist rate, turnover rate, fouls drawn per 40 minutes, free throw rate and free throw percentage.
But, he’s committing 2.5 fouls per 40 minutes and struggling at times to stay in front of his defender, which puts a lot of pressure on Martin’s man-to-man defense and the bigs who then have to go help and leave their man in the post.
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“Like Frank says, I open my hips too much guarding the ball and I have to stay in front of my guy. I have to give more effort. Guys are getting by me too easily right now. I need to focus in, step down and guard my man. I’m doing that now. I’m focusing a lot.”
Martin attributes some of the lack of production defensively to Lawson having to take on a bigger role this year with Hassani Gravett and Chris Silva, both two solid defenders, off and playing professionally.
Instead of Gravett taking the team’s biggest scoring threat, that burden falls on Lawson, who doesn’t have the same help he did behind him in Silva and Maik Kostar patrolling the paint.
He’s also being looked to as a leader and the team’s primary scoring option as well, which is a lot to put on a 19 year old sometimes.
“AJ’s having to take on that responsibility and take on the responsibility of scoring and not having the same protection behind him,” Martin said. “He’s taking it on. When guys run away from it, I worry. He’s trying to grow from it.”
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This week’s been good for Lawson, who got seven days in between arguably his worst game of the season where he played a season-low 19 minutes and shot 2-for-10 from the field, and the rivalry game against Clemson Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.
In that time, he’s been able to sit down with the coaches and really get feedback on his own personal game instead of delving head first into scouting reports for the next opponent.
It’s helped him refocus in on what he needs to be better at, and Martin’s also quick to point out the Gamecocks are where they are right now because of him.
“I think AJ, because he’s such a character kid and wants to please people kind of person, he’s been very receptive on what he needs to do better,” he said. “With all that said, without him out there, instead of being 6-4, we’re probably 3-7. He’s carrying a burden.”
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