The latest with AJ Lawson
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
Right now, the jury is still out on if AJ Lawson will play this week in the SEC Tournament, but Frank Martin is encouraged by what he's seen from the Gamecocks' freshman entering this week.
Lawson, who's missed the last three games with a severe ankle sprain, is rehabbing well and pushing the coaching staff to come back sooner rather than later.
"If it was up to him, he would have played on Saturday. When you have a young man that's battling some form of an injury and he's so determined to get on the court, it makes you optimistic as a coach," Martin said. "He's extremely, extremely excited about getting on the court. We had to back him off the court Saturday so he understands this coming week it's better to get him at 100 percent than 75 or 80 percent. Is he going to be 100 percent this weekend? I don't know. The decision whether or not he'll play will be made later in the week."
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The team's freshman missed Saturday's regular season finale but postgame Martin said he could have probably given the Gamecocks (16-15, 11-7 SEC) five or six minutes in an emergency.
The coaching staff held him out but now Lawson has almost a week before the team's first tournament game to rest and get ready to potentially play in the quarterfinals.
They won't play until the early afternoon Friday after clinching a double bye in the conference tournament, so Lawson has a lot of time to rest heading into this weekend.
Along with Lawson, Martin is giving his entire team a chance to rest up at the beginning of the week before starting preparations Wednesday for one of three potential teams they'll play in Auburn, Georgia or Missouri.
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"Yesterday and today we're doing absolutely nothing. They're on spring break so it gives them two whole days where they don't have to get out of bed to go to class, to be stressed out with 100 different things. There's no one on campus so they get to relax. They're coming into see the trainer and doing a lot of work to help their bodies heal. Then mentally, it's kind of catching their breath for a second. We'll regroup on Tuesday, we'll get in a lift, watch some film and start doing some on-court stuff. I ratchet up on Wednesday and on Thursday start game prep. You really don't know who you're playing against and I'm not big on preparing for two different teams but it's three possible opponents we've played. it's a matter of really, really cleaning up what we do and having fresh legs and fresh spirits."
The Gamecocks clinched a double bye for the third time in four years and went 2-1 down the stretch without Lawson on the court.
If he returns, it'd be a big boost for a Gamecock team that's missed his length and athleticism in the backcourt. Lawson is averaging 13.9 points in his freshman season but Martin's going to be confident with whoever he puts on the court.
"We're optimistic with or without AJ Lawson," he said. "You got to be excited about the guys that are going to lineup and play for you."