Matt Lawrence: Mizzou's Silent Assassin
12/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 7, 2006
Columbia, Mo. -
By Josh Fowler, Media Relations Student-Assistant
Buckets of shots fell in an empty gymnasium in early August. As ancient proverb would suggest, if a jumper falls in the basket and no one was around to hear it, did it swish? There is one person who knows. He's the only person in the gym, hoisting as many as 400 shots a day from behind the arc.
The shooter is a 6-foot-7 3-point sniper from St. Louis and he's sharpening his skills for the upcoming season. The sniper reloads, going through rack after rack of balls. He's sweating and shooting for the chance to crack the starting lineup this fall. Like all good shooters, he sees a window of opportunity. The lone shooter in the gym is now a veteran on the squad and there's a new coach in town. Draining basket after basket, he's addicted to the sound of the swish. He doesn't say a word; the sound of the swish says it all. The silent assassin is Matt Lawrence.
Fast-forward three months, to Nov. 10. Lawrence has just notched 27 points in the season opener, including seven three's. After scoring 35 points all of last season, Lawrence almost equaled a year's worth of scoring in 29 minutes on the court.
"They gave me a green light," Lawrence said. "They know that I'm a smart enough player to make the right decision to shoot when I'm open, and in the first game I was open a lot. My teammates were able to get me the ball." Lawrence said. "I was just fortunate to make the open shots and I was glad they fell."
Lawrence came to Mizzou because he felt a connection with the coaching staff. Now, in his second year playing under the lights of Mizzou Arena, he's under the instruction of a new coach in Mike Anderson.
"The new coaching staff is great, I love all the assistants." Lawrence said. "I love playing for Coach Anderson and the style of basketball that he's brought to the Big 12. I'm just fortunate to be here at Mizzou playing with such a great coach."
After averaging 1.4 points per game as a freshman, Lawrence started in the season opener against North Carolina A&T. His 27-point opening night eruption and seven 3-pointers, rank No.8 all-time for a Mizzou Tiger in a single game. He scorched the nets all night long, and went from riding the bench to becoming a starter, seemingly overnight.
"It definitely did surprise me, it was such an honor just to go out there and start on a team with this much talent." Lawrence said. "A lot of people thought our scoring would be down this year, because we lost 60 percent of our scoring, but we've got guys who can put the ball in the hole."
In three games to start the season, Lawrence is already averaging nearly 15 points a game, but Lawrence, a business finance major, realizes his numbers are only as good as the team's record. "If I'm getting five [points] a game and we're winning that's all I care about." Lawrence said. "If another guy's on, I'm going to be getting them the ball; it could be anyone on any night."
In many ways, Lawrence is the match that starts the fire: the shooter who ignites the Mizzou offense.
With 16:49 remaining in the second half versus Stetson, he did just that. Mizzou was up by one, 28-27. Lawrence was 0-4 from 3-point real estate...He wouldn't miss again.
At 16:18, Lawrence drained a three, to make the score 31-27. At 13:35 he sank another, capping a 10-2 run that sealed the game. "Hitting shots when your teammates have the confidence in you, to be able to knock it down, it's a great feeling." Lawrence said.
As the ultimate team player, Lawrence doesn't solely credit himself with energizing the team. "I think our main fire comes from our defense. When we get stops, it's bigger to us as a team, than hitting shots." Lawrence said. "I know the crowd goes nuts when you go out there and hit a three or get a dunk, but we know in our minds that defensive stops are the main thing. If they don't score and we're ahead than we know we're going to win."
When a Matt Lawrence 3-ball tickles the twine, everyone in Columbia can feel the aftershock, even the folks from way downtown. In his second game against Army, Lawrence had yet to score any points in the game. With 10:27 remaining in the game, he delivered the final nail in the coffin, burying his only three of the night to put the Tigers up by six, 50-44. Army would get no closer the rest of the way.
As Lawrence drained the shot and the PA announcer bellowed out his name, a few thousand fans jumped to their feet. Lawrence isn't just one of the team's best shooters; he's also a fan favorite. Coming to Mizzou by way of Lafayette High School in St. Louis, Lawrence is in many ways, a homegrown product. Everyone loves him, whether he scores four points or forty.
Matt Lawrence is the ultimate underdog player. He originally planned to come to Mizzou on an academic scholarship because he didn't know whether Mizzou would have enough basketball scholarships available. By fall of freshman year, the scholarship situation sorted itself out, and Lawrence had a full ride.
"I was coming here no matter what, my parents said you're good to go, we'll pay for it if we need to, and I was glad they didn't" Lawrence said. "I'm kind of making people pay for not regarding me as a high prospect coming out of high school. It's good to know a school like Mizzou has confidence in me."
Few gave Lawrence much of a chance at making his mark at Mizzou, and many thought a pure, yet unheralded shooter from west St. Louis would be destined for the end of the bench. Now, three games into his sophomore season Lawrence is a starter and the team's go-to clutch shot artist.
When he performs on the court he could speak out against his critics, but Lawrence chooses not to. He's the silent assassin, and he let's his swishes do the talking.
