A. J. Lawson

A. J. Lawson (born July 15, 2000) is a Canadian college basketball player for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

A. J. Lawson
Lawson in January 2020
No. 00 – South Carolina Gamecocks
PositionShooting guard
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (2000-07-15) July 15, 2000
NationalityCanadian
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight178 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeSouth Carolina (2018–present)
Career highlights and awards
  • SEC All-Freshman Team (2019)
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  Canada
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
2018 Canada

Early life and high school career

Lawson grew up in Brampton, Ontario and attended GTA Prep in Mississauga, a basketball academy based out of Mississauga Secondary School where he was coached by David Cooper. In his senior season, Lawson was named an National Preparatory Association First Team All-Star and led the team to second place in the NPA championships.[1] Originally set to graduate in 2019 and ranked 40th in his class by 247Sports as well as fourth-best Canadian prospect by North Pole Hoops, Lawson reclassified for the class of 2018.[2] Lawson committed to play college basketball at the University of South Carolina over offers from Tulane and Creighton. South Carolina head coach Frank Martin began recruiting Lawson after a late night workout in Columbia on the trip back from a tournament.[3]

College career
Lawson in February 2019

Lawson averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and a 2.9 assists in 29 games played and was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team.[4][5] He was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on November 19, 2018 after averaging 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists over a three-game stretch against Norfolk State, Providence and George Washington.[6] Following the season he initially entered his name into the 2019 NBA Draft, but decided to withdraw and return to South Carolina for his sophomore season.[7][8]

Lawson was named to the preseason first team All-SEC and to the Jerry West Award watchlist going into his sophomore year.[9][10] He was also named the 41st-best collegiate basketball player going into the 2019–20 season by CBS Sports and the 29th-best prospect for the 2020 NBA draft by ESPN.[11][12] Lawson scored a season-high 28 points on November 15, 2019 in a 90–63 win against Cleveland State.[13] Lawson led the team during the season in total points with 416 and points per game at 13.4 while also averaging 3.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.[14] Following the season, he declared for the 2020 NBA draft but did not hire an agent.[15] Lawson decided to withdraw from the draft and return to South Carolina on July 29.[16] On January 6, 2021, Lawson scored a career-high 30 points in a 78–54 win over Texas A&M.[17]

National team career

Lawson has competed internationally for the Canada national under-19 basketball team. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship as Canada finished second in the tournament.[18] Lawson posted team highs with 18 points and 12 rebounds in Canada's 113–74 loss to the United States in the tournament final.[19]

In the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, Lawson averaged a team-best 16.7 points with 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in seven games as Canada advanced to the quarterfinals.[20] He also had the highest scoring performance of the tournament with a 31-point game against Senegal.[21]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 South Carolina 292829.9.411.358.6674.32.91.1.213.4
2019–20 South Carolina 313129.1.414.339.7243.71.91.2.113.4
Career 605929.5.413.348.6954.02.41.2.213.4

Personal life

Lawson's father, Anthony Lawson, was born in Baltimore and attended Scott's Branch High School where he played football and supported the University of South Carolina. He served in the Air Force.[3]

References
  1. Colpitts, Iain (April 25, 2018). "Trusting the process has kept basketball star AJ Lawson close to home". Brampton Guardian. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  2. Suleymanov, Mark (June 27, 2018). "Canada's A.J. Lawson commits to South Carolina". Sporting News. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  3. Ramspacher, Andrew (February 23, 2019). "'In my mind, we got AJ five years ago.' One man's journey to bring AJ Lawson to USC". The State. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  4. "South Carolina basketball: Why AJ Lawson's due for big season". The State. October 23, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  5. Whittle, John. "Lawson deserves 'a little more respect'". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. Del Bianco, John (November 19, 2018). "AJ Lawson earns first SEC weekly award". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  7. "Gamecocks' Lawson Declares For NBA Draft, Eligible To Return". Live5News.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  8. "South Carolina freshman AJ Lawson declares for NBA draft". USA Today. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  9. "A.J. Lawson named Preseason All-SEC First Team by the coaches". WLTX.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  10. "USC's Lawson Named To Jerry West Award Watch List". Live5News.com. October 15, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  11. Boone, Kyle; Norlander, Matt; Parrish, Gary (October 24, 2019). "Ranking the Top 100 And 1 best players in college basketball entering the 2019-20 season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  12. Givony, Jonathan (November 4, 2019). "NBA mock draft: Viewer's guide for our top prospects". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  13. "Lawson leads South Carolina past Cleveland State 90-63". USAToday.com. Associated Press. November 15, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  14. Del Bianco, John (March 18, 2020). "Seventh Woods finishes sit-out season on strong note". 247Sports.com. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  15. "South Carolina guard A.J. Lawson declares for NBA draft". ESPN. Associated Press. April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  16. "Leading hoops scorer AJ Lawson returning to South Carolina". NBC Sports. Associated Press. July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  17. "Lawson scores 30, leads South Carolina over Texas A&M, 78-54". Gamecocks Online. January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  18. Zagoria, Adam (June 23, 2018). "Canadian star A.J. Lawson expected to announce Tuesday". ZagsBlog.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  19. Ewing, Lori (June 16, 2018). "U.S. blows out Canada to win FIBA Americas U18 title". CBC.ca. The Canadian Press. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  20. Ramspacher, Andrew (July 22, 2019). "How close AJ Lawson came to leaving South Carolina, what he learned from Chris Paul". The Charlotte Observer.
  21. Brzozowski, Greg (July 4, 2019). "Gamecocks' Lawson shines for Canada in win over Senegal". ABCColumbia.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
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