Lawrence adapts to Big 12 play

Playing basketball in the Big 12 Conference has been a relatively new experience for Matt Lawrence. Although he is a sophomore, Lawrence didn’t get much playing time in conference play last year.

Lawrence said his time on the court was limited because he was too slow and not strong enough. So he worked in the offseason to improve his footwork. But after playing four games in the Big 12 this year, Lawrence said he still doesn’t think he is quite where he needs to be.

“I still need to work on my quickness and my strength,” Lawrence said. “I get pushed around a little by big guys down low. Mainly, defensively, with boxing out, I think guys are trying to push me underneath the basket or post me up and try to back me down.”

Monday against Kansas, Lawrence had the difficult assignment of guarding Brandon Rush, Kansas’ leading scorer. Because of his quickness advantage, Rush took the ball to the basket throughout the game, especially in the first half.

“I knew he couldn’t stay with me at all,” Rush said. “So I made my way to the rim mostly all the time.”

Lawrence said Rush’s athleticism made him a tough defensive assignment.

“With a guy like Brandon, he can put it up from beyond three, and he can jump so high,” Lawrence said. “I just tried to get a hand in his face when he shot, even though I knew I couldn’t block it because he jumps so much higher than I do. It was a tough matchup. I just tried to keep him in front of me as best as I could. But he still got around me. He’s a hell of a player.”

While Rush’s offensive ability gave Lawrence problems, Lawrence had his best game of the conference

season with Rush defending him. In the previous three Big 12 games, Lawrence had totaled only 15 points. Against Kansas, Lawrence scored 19, his career high in conference play. Lawrence said the key difference was making his first three shots of the game.

“It helps out my confidence a lot when I get it going early,” Lawrence said. “Brandon kept getting a hand in my face on every shot after I hit my first three shots from the outside. When he did that, I knew he’d start falling for the pump fake. I got him a couple times in the second half with it.”

With Lawrence making shots in the game’s opening minutes, defenders are forced to play tighter defense to make sure they have a hand up when Lawrence shoots. It also usually means Lawrence’s pump fake will be more effective as the game progresses, as it was against Kansas. It only takes a slight hesitation by a defender for Lawrence to create room to drive around him. Rush said he wasn’t really prepared to defend a player like Lawrence, so he had to make his adjustments during the game.

“You have to approach him differently,” Rush said. “You have to buy every shot fake he puts up because he’s a shooter. He torched me early a lot. I started going for every shot fake and he started getting in the lane.”

After shooting 53.8 percent from 3-point range in the nonconference portion of the schedule, Lawrence’s statistics have slipped during Big 12 games. In four games, Lawrence is shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

Lawrence said the reason for the drop is an inability to get as many open shots at the basket. Since Big 12 play began, Lawrence has worked on creating his own shot off the dribble to give him more space to shoot. He also is working on coming off screens tighter and faster.

“Early on (in the season), I just got open looks,” Lawrence said. “But those aren’t going to happen anymore in the Big 12, so I’m going to have to put the ball on the floor and create my own shot. I think if I make some shots early and utilize my pump fake, then I’ll be able to get more looks inside and closer to the basket.”

Making 3-point shots also expands the opposition’s defense, Lawrence said, therefore opening up lanes for his teammates to drive to the basket and post players to get 1-on-1 matchups. Because of that, junior center Kalen Grimes told Lawrence before Monday’s game at Kansas that he would be setting a lot of screen’s for Missouri’s top 3-point threat.

“I know the wide open looks are going to be few in the Big 12,” Lawrence said. “But if my teammates screen for me like they did against KU, I don’t think it should be a problem. They made it a point (against Kansas). Kalen told me he was going to get me open a lot before the game. He said, ‘You’re going to see a lot of me tonight. I’ll be screening for you.’”