Frank Martin encourages players like Lawson to test NBA waters, talks Bolden transfer
South Carolina men’s basketball coach Frank Martin said he doesn’t mind when his players, such as AJ Lawson, test the NBA waters.
In fact, he said on a radio interview Friday with Teddy Heffner that he encourages it.
“I encourage all our guys,” Martin said. “If that’s an avenue they want to pursue, it’s available to them. Heck, if they offer for me to make myself available, I’d make myself available. But I don’t think there’s any place for a 280-pound old coach with bad knees.”
Lawson is going through this process for the second time. He has until early June to withdraw, assuming he doesn’t hire an agent.
The 6-foot-6 guard/wing came into the season with expectations to take a next step and make himself a likely NBA draft pick. He did lead the Gamecocks in scoring with 13.4 points per game. After being considered a candidate to play point guard, he slid into more of a wing role.
At one point he was considered a potential second-round pick, but most current projections don’t have him getting drafted this year. His coach said that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth exploring.
“He felt that he needed more time to keep gathering information to make the best decision that he can possibly make,” Martin said. “So I’m in full support of these young men making these decisions.”
The information-gathering process will likely be stunted, to a degree, as the coronavirus shutdown will limit workouts, combines and other events.
This isn’t new for Martin, who watched Lawson go through this last year, and Chris Silva the year before that. He also had PJ Dozier jump to the pros early, hiring an agent quickly, and had one-and-done players in Bill Walker and Michael Beasley at Kansas State.
The Gamecocks also saw a roster departure from guard Jair Bolden, who played only one season after sitting out a transfer year. He was USC’s best shooter, but his role shrank through the year and now he’s off to Butler as a grad transfer.
“He was a real good member of our team,” Martin said. “He was a real good teammate. But one of the reasons he transferred is that, as the year went on, his responsibilities decreased because other people took them on. I think he sensed that, and he made a decision, which I fully understood and support.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Frank Martin encourages players like Lawson to test NBA waters, talks Bolden transfer."
