— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) June 19, 2023
Lawson’s departure means that Memphis now has just one impending returner: Jayden Hardaway. The 6-foot-7 senior played at Memphis for two years after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Oregon.
Last season, Lawson averaged 5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 56.7% from the field and 50% from three-point range. His prowess from the three-point line, however, didn’t emerge until later in the year.
Why is Lawson Transferring?
Though this may come as a surprise to some, fans shouldn’t be too shocked about Lawson’s departure. The truth is that this was always somewhat destined to happen.
Memphis has outlandishly been recruiting over Lawson for months now. In doing so, it has acquired multiple pieces that can play in the frontcourt. Players like Nick Jourdain, Ashton Hardaway, Teafale Lenard and Jonathan Pierre can all steal minutes at the 4 from Lawson.
On top of that, Memphis is attempting to bring back all-AAC forward DeAndre Williams. It is also heavily involved with Louisiana transfer Jordan Brown. If head coach Penny Hardaway brings in both of those players, they are starting at the 4 and 5 respectively.
Lawson’s minutes at Memphis were tanking by the hour. And with his brother now gone from the program, there’s little incentive for Lawson to stick around.
Additionally, sources tell Tiger Blueprint that multiple programs have been tampering with Lawson for months on end. Some of them are from the SEC.
In the current world of “amateur” athletics, players have to prioritize their best interests over everything else. With the transfer portal and NIL being as out-of-control as they are, someone can lose their spot at any time. And that’s what seemingly happened to Lawson.
It’s rather unfortunate, but this is the reality of college basketball in 2023. Roster continuity hardly exists, and everyone is being recruited on a yearly basis. That goes for both players and coaches.
Memphis F Chandler Lawson (@chandlerlawson0 ) has received interest from the following schools since hitting the transfer portal, per source:
– Cal – St. Louis – DePaul – Santa Barbara – BYU – Arkansas – South Carolina
All four of Keelon Lawson’s sons played basketball at Memphis at some point in the last decade.
And each of their tenures at Memphis ended the exact same way. They all transferred from the program after two seasons. Dedric and KJ spent 2015-16 and 2016-17 at Memphis before transferring to Kansas after Tubby Smith, Memphis’ coach at the time, demoted Keelon Lawson from being an assistant coach.
And now, with Johnathan and Chandler leaving the program in similar fashion six years later, the Lawson era at Memphis is officially over. As tough as this is for some to hear, that’s probably for the best.
Senior Editor for Tiger Blueprint. See more of my work on Bluff City Media, where I’m the Memphis basketball beat writer, the Men in Hoodies podcast on Apple and Spotify and on “Sports with Roman Cleary” live on University of Memphis Radio—The ROAR Fridays from 3-4 p.m. during the fall and spring.
