Chandler Lawson transferring from Memphis East to national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Another Lawson brother is leaving Memphis to further his basketball career.

Chandler Lawson, a rising senior who won his third-straight TSSAA AAA state championship at Memphis East High School this past year, announced on social media Saturday that he will play his final season of high school at national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

Lawson, a consensus four-star recruit in the 2019 class, is the younger brother of former Memphis Tigers stars Dedric and K.J. Lawson. Dedric and K.J. transferred from Memphis to Kansas in April 2017 and will be eligible to play for the Jayhawks this season after sitting out the 2017-18 campaign due to NCAA transfer rules.

Their father is former Memphis assistant coach and director of player personnel Keelon Lawson.

But Chandler Lawson’s older brothers completed their high school careers in the area, ultimately winning consecutive state championships at Hamilton High School, playing for their father before moving on to the college ranks at Memphis.

The departure of former East coach Penny Hardaway to become the Tigers’ head coach this offseason played a significant role in Lawson’s decision to go to Oak Hill.

“The coaching environment, I think I want to be able to learn the things to be able to play at the next level,” Lawson said in an interview Friday at Nike’s Peach Jam tournament, confirming he planned to leave East for another school for his senior season. “It’s basically you just got to be your own man and learn from what you do, and just do your own thing.”

Lawson’s strengths are different than his older brothers, who were known more for their offensive skills. Lawson, who is listed at 6-foot-8, has long arms and better lateral quickness and it makes him a fearsome defender.

During Peach Jam, he spent much of his time guarding perimeter players and proved to be the Bluff City Legends’ top defender throughout the week. He’s also capable of grabbing a rebound and leading the fast break when needed.

Though Bluff City failed to advance past pool play for the second-straight year after a 70-52 loss to Team Takeover Friday night, Lawson proved to be a consistent threat on both ends of the court. He averaged 11.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2 steals in the team's five games.    

“I got pride in my defense. Don’t let nobody score on me,” Lawson said. “Penny taught defense really well and I bought in and brought it to my game.”

Lawson’s younger brother, Jonathan, was a freshman guard at East this past season and it appears he will be playing elsewhere this school year as well. Chandler Lawson indicated in a subsequent Facebook post that Jonathan Lawson would be playing for their father at Wooddale High School in Memphis.

Chandler Lawson will encounter a similar setting at Oak Hill as the one he had at East, which featured a starting lineup full of Division-I prospects under Hardaway. Led by longtime coach Steve Smith, Oak Hill plays a national schedule and has sent at least three players to the Division-I ranks every year since 2008.

How this move affects Lawson’s recruiting situation remains to be seen.

He said Friday that Memphis “is going after me” and remains in the mix, despite the fact that Keelon Lawson told ESPN last month his family remains upset with how Tigers athletic director Tom Bowen handled the coaching transition from Josh Pastner to Tubby Smith ahead of the 2016-17 season.

According to Lawson, Bowen promised him he would remain an assistant coach after Pastner left for Georgia Tech. But Lawson was subsequently named director of player personnel, a non-coaching position, after Smith’s hiring in April 2016.

Chandler Lawson also listed Kansas, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss and Illinois as serious suitors at this point in his recruitment.

Since the Bluff City Legends are not playing in any more events during college basketball’s July evaluation period, Lawson said he will move over to the Adidas-sponsored Hoop City Basketball Club the next two weeks.

The team is coached by Ernie Kuyper, the cousin of Memphis assistant Mike Miller, and is also expected to include five-star Tigers’ target Trendon Watford.

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