College Basketball: Lawson Brothers Transfer From Memphis to Kansas

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

Kansas has added two huge pieces to their roster for the 2018-19 basketball season as forwards Dedric and K.J. Lawson have announced via Twitter that they are transferring from the University of Memphis are heading to Lawrence to join the Jayhawks.

The Lawson brothers were a big part of the Memphis team as Dedric, a 6’9”, 240 pound, sophomore averaged 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds to go along with his 68 blocks. Dedric also finished the year with 19 double-doubles after the season he was named first-team All-American Athletic Conference. K.J., a 6’7”, 210 pound, redshirt freshman, chipped 12.4 points and 8.3 rebounds last season and was named Conference Newcomer of the Year.

However, due to NCAA transfer rules both players will have sit out the season but are available to practice with their new team. When they return to the court, Dedric will have two years of eligibility remaining while K.J. could have up to three years left if the NCAA grants him a waiver for a sixth year of eligibility since he missed his freshman season with an injury.

Basketball runs deep in the Lawson family as both their parents, Keelon and Dedra Lawson, played college basketball at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis. Dedra went on to eventually coach the women’s team at her alma mater. Keelon was hired in 2014 to be an assistant coach for the University of Memphis by former head coach but when current head coach Tubby Smith took over before the season he made Keelon the director of player development. The other two sons in the family Chandler Lawson, a sophomore at Memphis East High, is currently ranked No. 33 in the Class of 2019 by Rivals.com and Johnathan Lawson who will graduate in the Class of 2021.

The transfer to Kansas from Memphis happened quickly as it was only on April 5 that the Lawson brothers announced their departure from the Tigers. Then during the day yesterday, the student-athletes had reportedly narrowed their list to four including Kansas, Duke, Iowa State and Ole Miss.

Finally at 8:14 pm local central time, K.J. sent out a simple tweet consisting of three words, “Rock Chalk Jayhawk.”

With the addition of the Lawson brothers and the reloading talent of Coach Bill Self and his coaching staff, the future is bright on the campus of the University of Kansas.

Photo credit: Upside and Motor; Memphis forward Dedric Lawson