We continue our brief profiles of each member of the 2010-11 Creighton men’s basketball team. Join us each weekday from now until the men’s exhibition game against Northern State for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
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With a new coach and new philosophies on the Hilltop, it could be the Creighton men’s basketball players with the most experience that have the toughest time adjusting. After spending two, three or four years learning how to do things one way, the thought process goes, it’s tougher to forget and re-learn.
But fifth-year senior center Kenny Lawson Jr. disagrees.
“I think I’m adjusting as well as anyone,” he says. “It’s quite an adjustment for a lot of us. Even the guys that are new, coming out of high school and into college basketball, that’s an adjustment in itself. I think, in a sense, we’re all starting at the same level. We’re all adjusting to a new system, adjusting to working a little bit harder and a little bit smarter.”
The Missouri Valley Conference’s coaches and media don’t foresee an adjustment problem for Lawson – last week, they named him the league’s preseason Player of the Year. A year ago, he was the team’s only double-digit scorer – 13.8 points per game – and led the Jays with 6.8 rebounds a game.
At the beginning of the season, he will once again be essentially the team’s only option at center. But this year, he’ll have some help come Valley season. In fact, sophomore transfer Gregory Echenique is already helping Lawson.
“He’s by far one of the most physical players I’ve played against,” Lawson said. “It’s helped me get better playing a little more physical and it gives me an opportunity to see what more I can do to be successful against a guy like that.
“Greg’s a force in the paint. When you have somebody like that, who attracts double teams and possibly even triple teams, guys are going to have to be able to shoot the ball because they’re going to be open a lot. The way coach is, our four and five are interchangeable, so I’m excited to see how things will be when he gets eligible.”
One more thing aiding Lawson’s transition is the fact that new coach Greg McDermott’s new philosophies seem to be heavy on defense – an area where Lawson already excels. He was named to last year’s Missouri Valley Conference All-Defensive team after leading the league with 50 blocks.
But the thing that puts Lawson most at ease is that he knows that, though he may be the one his teammates look to for guidance, he’s not going through this alone.
“Obviously we have a new coach, which is a really big change,” he said. “We have a lot of freshmen. We’ve done a lot of things that I’m sure a lot of us have never done. For example, the boot camp – that’s something that we’ve never been through. I think it’s just making certain changes and adjustments so that we can be a better team.”
“We still have a lot to work on. It’s a big adjustment; we’re still adjusting to the new coach and his expectations, but we’re coming along. We’re a work in progress.”