Father of KU’s Lawson brothers talks Memphis return

File this away under the category: Worth Keeping an Eye On.

Keelon Lawson, the father of Kansas transfers Dedric and K.J. Lawson appeared on Memphis’ 92.9 ESPN Radio recently and told sports talk host John Martin that he would not rule out a return to Memphis by the KU forwards should things go south with Kansas and the FBI.

To date, there is no reason to believe that will happen, as the Kansas program has merely been listed as having been defrauded by an Adidas executive in a federal indictment that outlines some of the details into the FBI’s ongoing investigation into corruption in college basketball.

But it’s definitely worth noting that these kinds of thoughts are (a) being considered and (b) being tossed out there publicly.

In the interest of full disclosure here, Keelon Lawson is on 92.9 FM ESPN Radio every Monday to talk with Martin about the ins and outs of basketball in the city of Memphis. During today’s segment, Lawson was talking about the return of Penny Hardaway to Memphis as the Tigers head coach and hinted at some more exciting recruiting news coming in the near future for Hardaway’s program.

When asked then, by Martin, if that meant the return of Dedric and K.J. to their hometown, Keelon Lawson laughed.

“Oh, nah. Ha ha ha ha,” he said before elaborating on what his sons have been told by KU coach Bill Self about the FBI investigation.

“The only thing I could tell when talking to Dedric, he just said Coach Self said everything is fine,” Keelon Lawson said on the air. “You could read the report that says Kansas is a victim, meaning somebody did something behind Kansas’ back to make us be a victim. But he said, as far as everything with the coaching staff, they didn’t have anything to do with it. And then they’ll just let their attorneys handle the procedure.

“He told Dedric, if something were to come down, they (Dedric and K.J.) would be the first ones to know because, you know, they would be the first ones to know so they could have the opportunity to do whatever they have to do.”

Asked, point blank, if he were ruling out a return to Memphis by his sons, Lawson said: “If something goes down with Kansas, if Penny would open the door to them to come back, as far as Coach Self being fired, I think the boys would entertain it. But as of right now, they’re at Kansas.”

The Lawson father was not shy about going on the radio and discussing his son’s very public departure from Memphis and then-coach Tubby Smith last spring. On both the local airwaves and a national podcast with CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish, Keelon Lawson talked openly about his sons’ plans and the reason behind them.

With Hardaway, one of Memphis’ favorite sons, now leading the Tigers program, a return to their hometown cannot be ruled out the way it might be if Smith were still leading the program.

But that’s a lot of ifs and it seems as if there still would be a lot that would need to happen for this to become something other than idle chatter by the father of a couple of KU players. Beyond that, even if the Lawson brothers eventually did want to head back home, they would have to sit out yet another season before being eligible to play again.

Both Dedric and K.J. Lawson are in line for big roles with the 2018-19 Jayhawks, with Dedric, a potential future NBA Lottery pick, expected to start alongside KU center Udoka Azubuike, should he return for his junior season as many expect, in the KU front court next season.

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LISTEN FOR YOURSELF: Jason & John Hour 3, 4/16/18 — Keelon Lawson, who appears on the show every Monday to talk about the ins and outs of basketball in the city of Memphis, jumps into the mix around the 30:00 mark and the specific stuff about KU starts around 37:00 and goes to about 41:00.