Lawson back in Memphis mix

With his commitment date of October 7 nearly a month away, Wooddale forward Johnathan Lawson has expanded his list of top schools from five to six to make room for Memphis.

The reigning Gatorade Tennessee Boys Basketball player of the year said that once he announced that he wanted to get his commitment out of the way in the fall and that the Tigers weren't on his original top five list, he started getting phone calls from Memphis coach Penny Hardaway.

"At first they offered me, but they weren't being real involved with my recruitment," Lawson said.

"But then they started recruiting me real hard. Penny and assistant) coach (Tony) Madlock started calling me every day after I dropped my top-five, they started recruiting me real hard."

So now, the Tigers are in the mix along with Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa State, Oregon, and Vanderbilt.

The 6-foot-7 guard is the state's No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite.

"From just talking to Penny, he thought that Johnathan wasn't going to make a decision until the spring but with all this pandemic going on we don't know what's going to happen so we're going to go ahead and get this stuff out the way," said Keelon Lawson, Johnathan's father.

"They probably thought they had time to come in and recruit if he was going to commit in the spring. But now that they know its earlier, I guess there's a little more of a sense of urgency. Lawson, who was a freshman on Hardaway's last state title team at East in 2018, said that his former high school coach is pitching him on his fit in the Tigers' offensive system.

"They're telling me that I can be a big guard like Penny and that I can play on the wing and be really versatile for them and the offense they have and help them a lot," Lawson said.

Keelon Lawson said that all of Johnathan Lawson's top schools have reached out consistently with phone calls and zoom calls.

He said that Johnathan Lawson has taken unofficial visits to all of his top schools except for Alabama and Iowa State.

Last year's Division I boys basketball tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, wiping out Wooddale's chances to repeat as Class AA state champions.

With Shelby County Schools unable to play football until at least Week five of the regular season, Johnathan Lawson said he's not sure if SCS will have a basketball season.

"The away, the season is looking, we might have a season or we might not," Johnathan Lawson said.

Jalen Brown, a four-star former teammate of Lawson's, recently announced his transfer from Wooddale to Tennessee Prep for those same reasons. Johnathan Lawson's plan, if SCS doesn't end up playing, is to enroll in college early.

"I'll go to college early and graduate early and try to get there in the winter around January," Johnathan Lawson said.

COMMERCIAL APPEAL ARIEL COBBERT/ THE Jonathan Lawson (1) passes the ball while being guarded by Chance Westry (1) on Saturday, August 29, 2020, during Hoop City high school basketball showcase at St. Benedict at Auburndale High School in Memphis, Tenn.