Kansas received a pair of huge additions to their 2019 roster as brothers Dedric Lawson and K.J. Lawson announced they’ll be transferring to Kansas.
The pair spent the season at Memphis.
Dedric, a 6-8 sophomore wing, came to Memphis as a prized recruit and McDonald’s All-American. Last season he played in 33 games, averaging 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.1 blocks a contest, while shooting 27% from 3-point range (down from 35% as a freshman).
K.J., a 6-7 redshirt freshman wing, played in 32 games for the Tigers this season, averaging 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks a night, while shooting 32% from the outside.
It’s easy to imagine the Lawson/Lawson frontcourt for Bill Self in 2018-2019.
Kansas has become something of a preferred landing spot for former McDonalds All-Americans as they’ll welcome Malik Newman to the team next season. The former 5-star recruit was forced to sit out this season (as the Lawson’s will be next year) under transfer rules.
Newman never looked comfortable at Mississippi State, averaging a disappointing 11.3 points and 2.2 assists during his freshman season with the Bulldogs.
Newman should play a big role for Kansas next season with National Player of the Year Frank Mason graduating.
Another interesting element to this move is that it immediately jumps Kansas to the top of the list for the Lawson’s younger brothers Chandler (a top 25 recruit in the 2019 class) and Jonathan (a top 10 recruit in the 2021 class), as well as their cousin D.J. Jeffries (a top 10 recruit in the 2019 class).
This one move has the potential to keep feeding Kansas talent for years to come.
