AJ Lawson remains a top 50 draft prospect, but Martin wants more from USC’s best player
In December 2018, A.J. Lawson was seen as a top-50 prospect for the NBA Draft. A year later, nothing’s changed.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie released his first draft “Big Board” of the season Thursday and South Carolina’s Lawson came in at No. 44. He was No. 49 on this list just seven games into his freshman year.
Vecenie is a veteran scribe when it comes to draft coverage. He gathers information from NBA executives, college coaches and evaluators to form a board that might resemble what can be found in NBA war rooms on draft night.
This is all to say Lawson’s long-term future is perfectly bright. The 6-foot-6 guard remains a blur with the basketball in his hands and his field goal and free throws percentages have improved since last year.
But in the short-term, Lawson is still being tweaked. He’s the Gamecocks’ star, but the Gamecocks are 6-4 and coming off a 20-point loss to Houston.
“My first 10 games I’d say have been pretty good,” Lawson said Thursday when asked to evaluate the opening third of his sophomore season. “Always can be better, but I feel offensively I can get my teammates involved better, and defensively just guard my man better and play within the team defense and help my teammates out more.”
If the 2019-20 season ended Thursday — three days ahead of the annual rivalry clash with Clemson (5-4) — Lawson’s 15.9 points per game would be the most by a Gamecock not named Sindarius Thornwell in the eight-year Frank Martin era.
It’s not Lawson’s offense, though, that has Martin prodding his best player.
“His defense has been lacking,” Martin said. “And what makes it great about coaching him is that he understands it and he doesn’t pout. He doesn’t run away from it.”
Lawson led Carolina in steals last season and he’s on pace for a touch more this season. But numbers can only tell so much. What Martin sees is Lawson’s defensive assignment getting past him on the perimeter. That happened last year, sure, but it could be cleaned up Chris Silva, one of the SEC’s premier rim protectors.
Lawson, in Hassani Gravett’s absence, is also drawing tougher opponents this year, which leads to more exposure.
“Hassani would take on the top offensive guard on the other team,” Martin said of Gravett, who held Wofford’s Fletcher Magee, the NCAA’s all-time in 3-pointers made, to eight points last November. “Now A.J.’s having to take on that responsibility — and take on the responsibility of scoring and not having the same kind of protection behind him
“He’s taking it on. When guys run away from it, I worry. He’s trying to grow from it.”
South Carolina, according to kepom.com, is 99th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. It last finished out of the top 100 in 2013-14, Martin’s second season with the Gamecocks.
“Good basketball players are trying to catch the ball at their spot,” Martin said. “When they catch it at their spot, they’re hard to defend. And that’s what’s happening to A.J. a little bit. He’s allowing people to catch the ball at their spot. Then, it’s really, really hard to defend.
“But our biggest issue is not just him individually. It’s collectively.”
Asked to identify what’s plaguing USC’s defense the most, Lawson included, “guarding our man one on one.”
Lawson on Sunday could draw anyone from Clemson’s 6-6 Tevin Mack (13.8 points per game) to 6-2 Al-Amir Dawes (9.8). On the flip side, some Tiger has to guard Lawson.
“Without him out there,” Martin said, “instead of 6-4, we’re probably 3-7. “
NEXT GAME
What: South Carolina at Clemson
Where: Littlejohn Coliseum
When: 5 p.m., Sunday
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
