COLUMBIA, S.C. — The most high profile departure from the Gamecock basketball program is official. A.J. Lawson announced on social media he will enter the NBA Draft and sign with an agent, thus ending his career at South Carolina.
“When I made the decision out of high school to attend SC, I knew it was going to be tough and that’s what I wanted,” Lawson wrote. “I wanted to be coached by somebody that would challenge me, and that’s exactly what coach Frank Martin and staff did. Nothing given, everything earned. No skipping steps in the process—including this past year.”
Lawson had already entered the draft twice before withdrawing his name and returning to the Gamecock program. But due to the NBA collective bargaining agreement, Lawson couldn’t enter the draft again and come back to school a third time.
Lawson was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2018-19 and this past season, Lawson named was Second Team All-SEC after averaging a team-leading 16.6 points per game.