Jermaine Couisnard took one dribble at midcourt before seeing what he saw to be a great play. He released the ball and, as it sliced through the air, two hands came and grabbed it and slammed it through the basket.

Those would be AJ Lawson’s hands as the sophomore connected on his first alley-oop dunk in what seems like forever.

As he flexed and jogged back down the court, a smile crept over his face and epitomized exactly where Lawson is in his game.

“He’s just playing with joy and enthusiasm. He went through a period where it seemed like he wasn’t enjoying and didn’t enjoy being out there,” Frank Martin said. “When guys lose their joy for competing, for a coach that’s troubling because something’s not right. We’ve all had numerous talks with him. His teammates have been great with him.”

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Lawson’s struggles have been well documented this season, coming to a head when he was benched against Stetson and scuffled to start SEC play.

But, as Jermaine Couisnard entered the starting lineup, something’s clicked with Lawson.

Over his last five games he’s averaging 14 points per game on 56.3 percent shooting from the field (73.7 from two, 44.8 from three) and adding 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.8 steals per game. And, the biggest thing, is he’s combined for two turnovers in three games.

The smiles have been more and more frequent as Lawson’s settled into his role off the ball and it’s coming out in his game.

“He’s starting to have that joy for competing again. You’re starting to see a smile on his face. You’re starting to see a little pep in his step on the basketball court. I think Jermaine has a lot to do with that,” Martin said. “I really do. Jermaine is an uplifting teammate. If you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, he’s going to let you know. I think AJ’s really appreciating that Jermaine is taking on that responsibility.”

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It’s hard to understate how vital Couisnard’s been in the team’s starting lineup with Martin repeating on multiple occasions the redshirt freshman’s innate ability to uplift his teammates.

Couisnard is getting his teammates involved averaging 3.3 assists per game in SEC play and Lawson is certainly a beneficiary of that. But Couisnard is taking some of the scoring load off Lawson and is the team’s leader, which allows Lawson to really focus on playing his game.

It’s working.

“He’s a good player,” Missouri’s Cuonzo Martin said. “I think he’s a very talented player but think they have other parts, too. When you have other guard they have they’re a different team. They have more guys on the perimeter. So now you don’t need his production at the level you did last year. That’s the only difference. He made shots tonight, he made threes and he drove the ball. I think he played well. I think it’s the case of you have a little bit more now so you don’t rely on him at the level you did last season.”

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Whatever’s gotten into Lawson recently is good news for the Gamecocks (13-8, 5-3 SEC), who could be without glue guy Justin Minaya indefinitely with a thumb injury.

Lawson is beginning to live up to the first-round projection he earned at the beginning of the season and SEC teams are taking notice, including Vanderbilt’s Jerry Stackhouse, who got to know Lawson when he was a coach with the Toronto Raptors.

“He’s a shooter, obviously. He’s a shooter with length and a guy that catches and shoots. It doesn’t take a lot of time and he don’t need a lot of time to get it off,” he said. “Every time we were a little bit late getting to him he made us pay…I’m happy for him and happy for his success. Just hope he doesn’t have it against us most nights.”