Brothers Dedric and K.J. Lawson from Memphis and Charlie Moore from California have signed grant-in-aid agreements to play men’s basketball at Kansas, head coach Bill Self announced Tuesday.
The Lawson brothers, who are listed as guards/forwards, are transferring to KU from Memphis where Dedric was a sophomore last season and K.J. a redshirt freshman. Moore is a guard coming to KU after one season at California. All three will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
“We’re excited about all three of these prospects,” Self said. “They’ve all had successful starts to their college careers at different institutions. Certainly, the transfers became so attractive to us, in large part because we will have guys in our program who will be ready to contribute in a year. We could lose multiple guys next year, so I think this is a great fit for the University of Kansas. Not only will we get better down the road but this will certainly make us better in practice next year.”
Last season at Memphis, Dedric (1) earned AAC first-team all-conference honors and K.J. (14) was named the AAC Rookie of the Year.
K.J. was named the 2017 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year, an honor Dedric earned in 2016. Additionally, Dedric was a 2017 all-conference first team selection, while K.J. was a member of the AAC All-Rookie Team.
In 2016-17, Dedric (6-foot-9, 236 pounds) led the AAC and was 19th nationally in rebound average at 9.9 boards per game. His 19.2 scoring average was second in the conference and he was fifth in the league with a 46.1 field goal percentage. Dedric recorded 19 double-doubles on the season which was 11th nationally and tops in the AAC. Dedric scored a career-high 35 points against Iowa on Nov. 26, 2016.
“Averaging almost 20 points and 10 rebounds last year, Dedric is one of the best big-man prospects in the country,” Self said. “He was a double-double machine last year.”
As a freshman in 2015-16, Dedric averaged 15.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and led Memphis with 17 double-doubles. His 9.3 rebounds per game were first in the AAC, while his points were fourth. Following his freshman campaign, Dedric entered the NBA Draft without an agent and returned to Memphis for his sophomore year.
K.J., (6-foot-7, 210 pounds), averaged 12.3 points and was third in the AAC with an 8.1 rebound average in 2016-17. He recorded nine double-doubles on the season. He scored a career-high 28 points against Houston on Jan. 19, 2017, and pulled down a career-best 19 rebounds against East Carolina on Jan. 28, 2017.
“K.J. averaged over 12 points and eight rebounds while playing the small forward position,” Self said. “He’s a very competitive athlete who we feel will add to our culture here.”
K.J. played in 10 games with two starts in 2015-16 and received a medical redshirt after a season-ending Achilles injury. He averaged 8.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in his brief stint in 2015-16.
Moore, winner of the 2016 Illinois Mr. Basketball award, started all 34 games for Cal last season with 12.0 ppg and 3.5 apg.
In his second-ever college game, Moore (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) scored a career-high 38 points against UC Irvine on Nov. 16, 2016. The Chicago native, who played at Morgan Park High School, averaged 28.8 minutes, 12.2 points and 3.5 assists in his lone season at California while starting all 34 games. His 3.5 assists per game ranked 11th in the Pac-12 Conference. Moore had four games of 20 more points and made 45 3-pointers for the season. California went 21-13 overall, tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with a 10-8 record and advanced to the postseason NIT.
“Charlie started at Cal this past year and averaged just over 12 points a game as a true freshman,” Self said. “We think after a year sitting out that he’ll be much like (KU sophomore transfer) Malik Newman will be for us this year, ready to make a serious contribution to our program.”
Photo/Release: KU Athletics
