FAYETTEVILLE --.University of Memphis transfer Chandler Lawson had a big assignment on Saturday facing Purdue center Zach Edey.
Edey is a 7-foot-4, 300-pound center and rated among the top players in college basketball. Lawson, 6-8, 210, was at a size disadvantage against Edey. Lawson finished the game with 10 points, two rebounds, three steals and a trio of blocks. Edey, who eventually fouled out, finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, one steal and a block. Lawson was asked what it was like to guard Edey?
"That’s a huge guy right there," Lawson said. "Coach was preparing me from Sunday to Saturday. I’ve been watching film on him to see what he likes to do. It was totally a team effort. If it weren’t for my teammates I feel like, giving me confidence, just go out there and use your quickness, use your length. If it weren’t for those guys, I probably would have laid down, but I wasn’t going to lay down tonight in front of the crowd we had."
Eric Musselman was asked if he's surprised by Lawson's play so far?
"No, I mean when we did the research, first of all, his coachability is off the charts," Musselman said. "He’s as coachable as any player I’ve ever coached. He really wants to please. He’s a great talker in practice, meaning he echoes play calls, he’s talking on defense, he’s in the right position. And then you look at the number of games he has from an experience standpoint of starting, and I thought he was phenomenal. Defensively, the blocked shots. Hit a big shot early in the game when we were kind of (wondering) what’s going to happen with us offensively. He’s a great teammate. And like I mentioned, he’s really great for the coaching staff. They all love when he comes to their drill. They love coaching him. He’s got a real positive, upbeat vibe to him."
It was Lawson's second game in Bud Walton Arena and for a benefit game Lawson couldn't believe the atmosphere.
"I felt like it was a big test for us," Lawson said. "I feel like this was a big test to prepare us for the season and see where we’re at, and what we need to work on. I feel like the fans gave us an extra boost tonight. If it wasn’t for the fans, we would have came up short. I want to shout out to the fans and everybody that came out and showed love. They were a huge part of the win tonight."
Other bigs for Arkansas on Saturday were Trevon Brazile and Makhi Mitchell. Lawson talked about the defense the three of them did against Purdue.
"I feel like if I wasn’t scoring, I feel like my man can’t score," Lawson said. "That was my whole demeanor tonight. Me and Khi and TB we hype each other up, weak side block, we take our one on one matchups seriously. We’re competitors, so I feel like once we hold Edey down to his lower numbers, I feel like we were good."
Following the big win against Purdue, though it won't count on record, Lawson was asked what Arkansas needs to do going forward?
"We can’t go downhill," Lawson said. "We just have to cherish this moment and go back to work. I feel like this is a big win for us. We’re going to celebrate it like a Final Four and we’re going to get back to work Monday or Sunday, whenever Coach schedules practice."
On Monday, Lawson and the Hogs open the regular season against Alcorn State at 7 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena. Lawson talked about how his entire preseason with the Hogs has been.
"The preseason went smooth," Lawson said. "I feel like I can get better. I’m just a basketball player. You can put me out there on the floor and I’ll pretty much guard anybody if Coach wants me to do that. It don’t matter who, if it’s the National Player of the Year or a walk-on. I just want to… You gotta have heart in this game. I feel like my heart was bigger than his tonight. I feel like he’s a great player still. We just took advantage of it and just worked harder than him."
