Memphis Tigers Hiring Father of 3 Future Recruits as Assistant Coach
"Keelon Lawson is the head coach at Hamilton High in Memphis and is the last coach to lead a city school to a state title while going unbeaten in the largest classification. He played at UAB and LeMoyne-Owen and spoke to at least two other schools (including Vanderbilt) about potentially joining their coaching staffs."
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/11222556/memphis-…
It seems that on those credentials alone it would seem fair for him to be hired as an asst. coach at Memphis. It also doesn't hurt that...
"He is the father of three heralded recruits. The oldest, K.J. Lawson, is a 6-foot-7 wingranked 37th in the country by ESPN.com. He has committed to play at Memphis.
Dedric Lawson is a 6-8 power forward in the Class of 2016 who is ranked seventh in the countryby ESPN.com. Chandler Lawson is a 6-6 wing who is ranked No. 1 overall in the Class of 2019 by one recruiting site. Jonathan Lawson is a sixth-grader who one coach said "may be the best of all of the brothers."
While this seems kind of shady its also the best of both worlds. Memphis is hiring a coach that has done well at the HS level, is a former D1 player, and had developed 3 of his sons into highly rated prospects...while also possible securing the commitments of said prospects. As long as all 4 children are allowed their freedom and not forced to choose Memphis this is a good move.
- Perry Watson
I think this is a smart move on Memphis part... 4 potential studs if the 6th grader is as good as advertised... he must have good genes
Gus Malzahn was a HS coach not too long ago and it turned out pretty well for him, right?
but nothing says illegal.
It's good to see Memphis has held on to some Calipari-ness over the years. I agree though, this seems like a win-win (win-win-win, 4 brothers).
Just to note, this is 100% legal under NCAA rules as long as a team is using one of their 3 asst. coaching spots for the parent and not if the parent is classified as an administrative position/dir. basketball ops, etc. This essentially prevents a school from indirectly paying for a recruit, as each of the limited assistant jobs serves a very valuable purpose. Basically the exact same thing happened at Temple with Rick/Jalen Brunson.
Be careful how you celebrate.
Sincerely,
Rick Brunson
Considering he has 3 kids ranked that highly it would indicate that he's pretty good at developing players. Sure genetics play a role, and AAU coaches and such, but he was clearly doing something right when they were little kids/middle school level.
This is shady...we all know the motives behind it
But what is the real problem here? In any normal industry or free market people are free to curry favor with others by doing things like this. We have all just been conditioned by the NCAA that college athletes are amateur and any money or benefits they somehow get from the fact they are a good athlete must be an awful thing. I call bullshit.
I don't get why this is a problem. You want to make a rule that says players can't play for their dad in college? What a dumb rule that would be. Or is the rule that a qualified HS coach cannot take a job at the college level if his kids are good at the sport he coaches? The things you're proposing are ludicrous.
And haven't assistant coaches been hired for their ability to recruit all the time? MSU just hired an asst FB coach with huge connections in Detroit. No one thought that was shady, everyone said that was smart. And his connections were to many talented players, not just his own kids.
would have had to go somewhere else? Also Andy Moeller, Jason Carr and many more, even Roger Reid. Do we really need more restrictive rules from the NCAA? I don't think it's a shady move, but even if it were, the cure would be worse than the problem.
for coaches that were hired before their kids were born.
thinking that Memphis was hiring three new assistants, each of whom is a father of a future recruit. I was impressed at their enterprise. The actual story is no big deal imho. Is it really that different from Penn State hiring Larry Johnson?
This actually doesn't seem as sketchy as half the stuff that happens in college sports.
This makes me want to drink. Not sure why, but clearly I need a drink. And laundry. Laundry makes me need a drink also.
The rankings referenced were his brothers'.
Right you are, but they are ranking a rising 8th grader, soooo just starting puberty.
"Chandler Lawson is a 6-6 wing who is ranked No. 1 overall in the Class of 2019 by one recruiting site."
Depending on how things are done the 6h grade kid could be the same age as a normal 8th grader. There's a local school here that commonly "redshirts" their athletes. Several members of the state chamionship baseball team are 19yo juniors.
MAAR of the incoming basketball class will be 20 before he arrives on campus for his freshman year.
never hired Perry Watson the most succesful coach in Michigan with the biggest pipeline to Detroit talent.
My highschool football coach became an assistant at MSU when our star running back went to be the starting running back at MSU.
I thought we had the market cornered on this sort of thing in Philly with the Brunson hire.
Good for the Lawson family. Anyone hating this can kick rocks.
The guy certainly seems qualified. Nothing new about coaching your son.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2013/03/05/fathers-coaching-…
It's just a coincidence. Why does everyone always have to get on their case? I'm sure they look forward to having this gentleman around for a decade or more.