At the moment, Frank Martin planning for A.J. Lawson to return to campus in June
South Carolina men’s basketball star A.J. Lawson hasn’t fully settled on his plans when it comes to the NBA. He’s in the draft but can withdraw, and the deadline has been pushed back as the NBA season and draft are in limbo.
His team is set to return to campus in late June to start testing before voluntary workouts. And while he’s not set, Martin is planning for Lawson to be back.
“As of right now, our players are due back on campus on June 29 to start the testing, and his plan is to be here on June 29, unless something changes,” Martin said.
Martin said he speaks to his top scorer almost daily. This is Lawson’s second go through the NBA draft process.
At one point, Lawson was considered a potential 2021 top-50 pick, but that was before a 2019-20 season in which he ceded point guard duties to Jermaine Couisnard and settled into a different sort of role.
For the season, Lawson averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1. steals. He shot 41.4% from the field and 33.9% from 3, while connecting on 72.4% on free throws.
At 6-foot-6, 178 pounds, he had the build of a long perimeter player and was at times a plus-ball handler and solid shooter.
Assistant coach plans
Martin said he’s already contacted the top two on his list for potential replacements for longtime assistant Perry Clark.
Clark’s retirement was announced Monday. He’s been with Martin since the second year of his tenure.
Martin said the pair have been talking for about a month about plans for his next step. The 68-year-old had been a head coach three times, including four years at Miami.
“As coaches we always keep like this list in our back pocket,” Martin said. “Guys that if we have movement that we’d like to pursue. I’ve got, I don’t know four or five guys on that list for me.”
He said that after talking to the top two, he’ll be interrupted by knee replacement surgery on Thursday, which likely means at least a 10-day delay.,
He said he’s looking for someone who can coexist with the staff, someone who can recruit within the strictures of his recruiting philosophy, patiently and cleanly, and someone who can develop talent.
As he looked back at Clark’s tenure, he remembered a moment the older coach picked him up in their first season together, when the program was struggling.
“He says, ‘You alright,” Martin said. “What are we gonna say? ‘No, I’m not’? ‘ I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, what’s up?’ ‘Frank, Seriously, what do you need?’ ‘PC, I don’t need anything.’ He says ‘Frank, I’ve been a head coach. People only give you their problems. Nobody ever asked to make sure that you’re okay.’ And I started laughing, then he sat down and we had like a long conversation. It’s who he is.”
This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 4:33 PM.
