Jayhawks to embrace ‘spotlight’ in Michigan State opener Tuesday, Dedric Lawson says
Preseason All-American Dedric Lawson’s much-anticipated regular-season basketball debut at Kansas won’t be against some low to mid-major team, but No. 10 Michigan State at the Champions Classic.
“This is as big as it gets,” said Lawson, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound junior transfer from the University of Memphis. “I remember at Memphis watching these type of games before we would go play, and I always wanted to be in that spotlight, to go out there and display my talent. I know a lot of the guys feel the same way,”
He realizes the college basketball world will be paying close attention to his play — and his team’s — during Tuesday’s 6 p.m. clash between No. 1 KU and the Spartans at the Classic in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.
The ESPN-televised Classic has been moved up a week this year in order to create a festive official opening night of the college basketball season.
“I would say the spotlight is on us because we’re the No. 1 team,” Lawson said.
He scored 31 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Emporia State and went for 18 points and six boards against Washburn in lopsided KU exhibition victories.
“Everyone wants to stop the No. 1 team. It’s our first game, our first time playing with each other against a good team. Guys will be excited to get out there and play,” Lawson said.
KU is 14-1 in season openers in the Bill Self era. The Jayhawks have had tuneup victories against UT Chattanooga, Vermont, Idaho State, Northern Arizona, Louisiana Monroe (twice), UMKC, Hofstra, Longwood, Towson, SE Missouri State, UC Santa Barbara, Northern Colorado and Tennessee State in past openers.
KU has started its season against a high major only once before under Self. The Jayhawks fell to Indiana 103-99 in overtime in the Armed Forces Classic in 2016 at Honolulu.
“I’m very excited to play against a Top 10 team early in the season,” Lawson said. “I think it’s a good time for us to see where we really stand collectively.”
Before this game, Lawson said the biggest college contest he’s played in was, “my freshman year (at Memphis). We played in the (American Athletic) conference championship game. We came up a little short to UConn. They were good that year. We ended up falling short by 10 or 12, and had we won, we would have gone to the NCAA Tournament.”
Indeed, UConn won that game, 72-58, in Orlando, Fla.
Dedric’s brother, former Memphis guard/forward K.J. Lawson, also makes his official regular-season KU debut on Tuesday. He said the Jayhawks have targets on their collective backs.
“Every game is a big game when you are No. 1 in the country or are ranked so high,” K.J. Lawson said. The sophomore wing scored seven points and grabbed eight boards combined in the two exhibitions in 30 minutes.
“We just have to go out and execute what coach Self puts out there on us and have fun,” K.J. Lawson said.
K.J. Lawson had been researching information on the Spartans’ 2018-19 squad on his own even before the Jayhawks started looking at film on MSU.
“They have a veteran team. They lost two pros,” he said of Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson. “They run a lot of misdirections, have a nice point guard and couple of good wings, a nice big inside. They are a good team. We kind of match up perfect.”
MSU returns returns three starters and 11 letter-winners from last season’s 30-5 team, which won the Big Ten Conference regular season with a 16-2 record. Two preseason all-conference picks — sophomore guard Cassius Winston and junior forward Nick Ward — head the returnees. Winston averaged 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds and Ward 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game a year ago. Another returning starter, junior guard Joshua Langford, averaged 11.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 2017-18.
Senior guard Matt McQuaid (6.0 ppg) and redshirt senior Kenny Goins (2.1 ppg) are the other probable starters.
“They are better than a Top 10 program,” KU coach Self said, indicating he will start Dedric Lawson, Udoka Azubuike and Lagerald Vick and two guards from the group of Quentin Grimes, Charlie Moore, Devon Dotson and Marcus Garrett. “They have a lot of new faces this year, but they’ve got three veterans, four when you count Goins. Ward, Winston and Langford have played as many minutes as any three starters in the country over the last three years.
“I’ve watched tape of their exhibition game (a 93-47 rout of Northern Michigan on Oct. 30) and certainly watched games where we have played against them in the past. It’s totally different personnel on both sides. They always seem to play well against us. We’ll have to play a lot better than what we’ve played. Hopefully we’ll also raise our level that maybe we haven’t seen yet, too, going there.”
Izzo, who like Self is a Hall of Fame coach, said after the Spartans’ exhibition game: “It’s just going to be interesting facing a team like Kansas right off the bat. It’s kind of a weird team. They lost some guards, but they’ve got transfers in there. They’ve got a lot of things going on over there.”
On Monday, Izzo said: “Looking at Kansas on film, watching their two exhibition games, they return two starters, but they’ve had an influx of guys sitting out. The Lawson kids from Memphis … one of them (Dedric) is preseason first-team All-American. He’s played a lot of ball. I think he’s gotten better watching films from when he was at Memphis until now.
“They won the Big 12 last year and advanced to a Final Four. They have guys on the team that know what it is to win,” Izzo said, adding Azubuike “is a monster. The other kid, (David) McCormack, is 6-10, 280.”
Ward, who played in the last meeting — KU’s 90-70 victory over MSU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2017 in Tulsa — said: “I’m definitely looking forward to Kansas. I haven’t played them since my freshman year, so I’m ready to get some revenge, hopefully.”
Classic moved up a week
Self on the Champions Classic moving up a week this year to become the season opener for all four teams (Duke and Kentucky meet in the second game): “I would say it being game two (of season) is more of an advantage than game one. We haven’t run one play yet. We haven’t put in a crutch. I’m hopeful that we may do something that they haven’t seen yet. And I don’t think Tom has run all his stuff in the one exhibition game that we got (on tape). The other one was a scrimmage and we don’t have that. It’s always better to watch a team play a real game so we know better how to prepare for them. Moving it up to a Tuesday to start the season and having a game of this magnitude this early, I’m not sure it will be the best played, especially if you’re playing with young kids. We are and they have some young kids as well.”
Azubuike speaks about opener
“It’s the beginning of the season,” Azubuike, KU’s junior center, said. “The fans are excited. Everyone wants to see what Kansas can do. When you guard them, you play your heart out; it really helps us for the season going forward.”
Comparing this game to the Final Four, Azubuike said: “Not quite the same feeling, but at the same time it’s the first big, official game that we play in. I think the way we go into that game really helps us moving forward. I think the stage of the Champions Classic is close to the same stage as the Final Four. I told the younger guys we can’t think too much, we have to just play our game.”
Watch lists
KU’s Dedric Lawson and Quentin Grimes and Kansas State’s Dean Wade and Barry Brown are four of 49 players on the NCAA’s Naismith Trophy watch list, released Monday. The award annually is presented to college basketball’s player of the year. Lawson and Wade are two of 20 players on the NABC preseason player of the year watch list, released on Monday.
Three more years
The Champions Classic, which has included KU, Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State the past seven seasons, has been renewed through 2022, ESPN announced on Monday. KU will play Duke next season in New York, then will meet Kentucky in 2020 in Chicago, Michigan State in 2021 in New York and Duke in 2022 in Indianapolis.
Nnaji visits Purdue
Zeke Nnaji, a 6-11 power forward from Hopkins (Minn.) High, visited Purdue over the weekend and has completed all five of his official visits. He has a final list of KU, Purdue, Arizona, UCLA and Baylor. However, North Carolina offered him a scholarship on Sunday, according to Zagsblog.com. Nnaji may visit North Carolina unofficially.
“We are evaluating that and will decide in the next day or so,” Nnaji’s dad, Apham Nnaji, told Zagsblog.com.
He has told Rivals.com that his son would like to announce a decision on Nov. 24.
Gary Bedore
Gary Bedore covers University of Kansas athletics for The Star.
This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 3:44 PM.