I'm away from my computer for a few hours and Keon Lawrence immediately pops up in the news again. K-Law is reportedly seeking a hardship ruling so he would be eligible to play in the upcoming season instead of having to sit out a year.
The appeal is based on the NCAA's decision to grant Julian Vaughn--who transferred from Georgetown to Florida State--his appeal. Lawrence's advisor, Alif Muhammad, told the Kansas City Star that Lawrence could lose two members of his immediate family within the next year. That would come after his older brother was shot and killed last year.
If that's the case then it would certainly shed some light onto Keon's decision to leave the Tigers. MU officials, however, will have the opportunity to object to Lawrence's appeal but in my opinion that would be in very poor taste.
There's still a very bitter taste in my mouth about Keon's departure. Reportedly, he had second thoughts after sending his letter to MU coaches stating he was unhappy and wanted a change of venue. But Mike Anderson was fed up with repeatedly having to coax Lawrence into staying.
From the details we know I can kind of see both sides of this thing. Keon's obviously a very troubled kid and more than likely has some security issues being as he was abandoned by his mother at a very early age and his troubled childhood has been well documented. But in Anderson's case, you're trying to build a program and at some point there's only so much you can do for a kid and you just have to tell him to either make a commitment or leave.
The troubling thing for me is that Keon didn't seem to be one of the problems the last two years. He was one of the few guys who appeared totally committed to turning things around. And he obviously had a load of potential. I mean, Mike DeArmond said during his freshman season that he might be the best freshman Tiger b-baller since Kareem Rush. I felt like he was a player who was worth the headaches he may have been causing. But then again, I'm not the coach and I obviously don't know the entire story.
Oh by the way, if Keon is granted his appeal there is a chance he will be on the same court with his old teammates very soon but wearing opposing colors. Mizzou and Seaton Hall are both participating in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
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4 comments:
I'm going 70/30 with a 'No' on this. The NCAA doesn't have a heart, and the possibility of ____ doesn't come as a hardship.
I'm a little bitter about the whole thing. I think it sucks that he left, but had somewhat of a reason to. The fact that he's trying to speed things up now is throwing a little gas on the fire.
That's a good point. I mean, if he needs to be with his family, which is essentially the reason he gave as to why he needed to move closer to home, then wouldn't the year of not being eligible to play benefit him?
Exactly. If family is more important than ball (which it should be), then he shouldn't push it. Kind of is a slam on Mizzou if you look at it that way.
If this gets approved, it'll be a little frustrating...especially since Tony Temple had a strong case for the redshirt year and didn't even get heard for months (if ever??)
I still feel for the guy. He always seemed like a really nice guy in my run-ins with him.
I really could care less if this gets approved, though. I'm past thinking about him as a Tiger.
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