The Case For Kenny

I think some people forget that Kenny Lawson Jr. isn’t even that (a junior, I mean). He’s only a sophomore, and he (along with fellow Californian post man Kenton Walker) is the kind of player whose budding play on the court and great personality on campus makes him a potentially transformational player for the future of Creighton basketball.

Have Creighton fans become spoiled with the past success of post players such as Anthony Tolliver and Brody Deren, the focal frontcourt dudes on some of Dana Altman’s most successful CU squads? It might just be the context in which Kenny is developing — in the midst of a new revolution of younger Jays who all seem to have started playing for Creighton at the same time — and the preseason accolades (prematurely) placed upon this year’s team, but I think Jays fans forget that it takes time (whether we like it or not) to progress as a post player in Altman’s world.

A look at the stats shows that Lawson is right on schedule, and that he’s due for a big second half of the conference season. When compared to Tolliver’s sophomore season (as a true sophomore) and Deren’s first year at CU (his redshirt sophomore season following a first-year transfer from Northwestern), Lawson’s number look equal, if not better, than those two great Jays’ stats.

Scoring

Through 20 games, Lawson’s averaging 8.6 points per game. His points-per-40 minutes average is 16.6. That compares favorably against Tolliver’s 4.2 points per game and 9.7 per-40 average. Kenny is a little more than a full point per game off Deren’s 9.9 average in 01-02.

Additionally, Lawson and Deren are dead equal in field goal percentage in their sophomore seasons (53%), whereas Tolliver hit just 42% of his shots. Plus, Lawson hits his free throws at 71% clip, while both Anthony and Brody made 57% of their charity shots in their respective seasons.

Lawson just scored a career-high 16 points against Evansville Wednesday night; here’s hoping it is the start of a long streak of impressive offensive performances.

Rebounding

Lawson’s name (as well as Walker’s) is brought up a lot of the time when Jays fans talk about this squad’s woes on the glass. And while both guys have room to improve in this area, Lawson is no slouch on the boards when compared to his predecessors in the post.

Deren averaged 5.1 rebounds (3.3 defensive caroms) in his sophomore season; Lawson is currently bringing in 4.8 boards per game (3.4 defensive). Tolliver swung 4.4 rebounds per contest in his second year (2.7 defensive).

It was that season, if you’ll remember, when Altman had a “heart to heart” conversation with Anthony, reminding him exactly what he needed to concentrate on down the stretch of the season in the coaching staff’s collective mind. I might be (probably am) wrong, but I think it happened after the Bracket Buster win over Chattanooga (a blowout win for CU). Tolliver was probably the only Jay not celebrating that day personally, as he fouled out in just 9 minutes of action (collecting 1 rebound and 0 points). He responded to the coaches’ calls for improvement and focus. In the final three regular season Valley games and a three-game championship run for the Jays in Arch Madness, Tolliver ran off a streak of efforts in which he grabbed 13, 6, 6, 8, 3, and 7 rebounds. That was the foundation for the remarkable junior and senior seasons Tolliver experienced at CU.

Lawson grabbed 10 rebounds at St. Joe’s and 7 against Dayton in back to back December games. Since then, he’s had 4 games grabbing more rebounds than his average and 8 games collecting fewer boards than his average. He was a focal point in CU’s wins at Bradley (10 points, 8 rebounds) and at Evansville (16 points, 5 boards). With about half the MVC season left, he’s poised to make a positive push on a glass.

Blocks

To this day, Deren has registered some of the most impressive (and downright intimidating) blocked shots I’ve seen from a player in the White and Blue. But Kenny’s not far behind, statistically speaking. He might lack Deren’s brute strength, but his condor-like arms and keen court awareness helps him keep pace with Brody’s 1.6 blocks per game from 01-02 — Lawson’s at 1.7 bpg so far this season.

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Much of Creighton’s potential success in the rest of the Valley schedule and in the postseason depends on how much Lawson and Walker can contribute in the post to a team full of perimeter scorers. The next 10 regular season games and the subsequent postseason opportunities will no doubt serve as a springboard for both men in their junior seasons next year. I won’t be surprised to see Lawson’s numbers get better during the next two months, which would be a positive development toward consistent post play.