What to expect from Memphis transfer Chandler Lawson

Arkansas basketball again went into the NCAA transfer portal and gained a commitment from a player out of the American Athletic Conference.

The Razorbacks on Friday picked up Memphis’ Chandler Lawson, a 6-7 forward who played two seasons for Penny Hardaway and his hometown Tigers after transferring from Oregon. He is the sixth transfer portal addition this offseason for Arkansas.

Lawson, too, is the fourth from the AAC, joining Tramon Mark (Houston), Khalif Battle (Temple) and Jeremiah Davenport (Cincinnati), who are on campus.

The Razorbacks’ newest piece, who officially visited campus June 20-21, is fairly intriguing because of his length, defensive potential and ability to run the floor. Though somewhat limited minutes-wise, Lawson also has postseason experience, appearing in the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons.

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He started, played 16 minutes and finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in the Tigers’ first-round loss to Florida Atlantic in March.

According to his Memphis bio, Lawson has a wingspan of 7-7. One website, Crafted NBA, shows that his wingspan matches that of Orlando Magic forward Bol Bol, whose listed height is anywhere from 7-0 3/4 to 7-2.

The 7-7 measurement would be the fifth longest among players in the NBA. For more context, Phoenix Suns forward Deandre Ayton has a 7-6 wingspan, and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s is 7-3.

Lawson utilized that length well at times at Oregon and Memphis, and he set career highs in steals (25) and blocks (19) in his final season with the Tigers. He had four multi-block games in 2022-23, including four blocks against Tulane and three vs. SMU and Central Florida.

KenPom data shows his block rate of 5.2% in AAC play ranked fourth.

Lawson was No. 5 in steals for Memphis last season. Altogether, he owned the third-best defensive rating (98.8), according to Sports Reference, among Tigers who played 500-plus minutes.

Based on his numbers, though, it appears he could be most useful on the backboards. Lawson was No. 6 in conference play last season with a defensive rebound rate of 20.3%, per KenPom. His 9% offensive rebound mark placed him 11th in the AAC.

Lawson did not play more than 28 minutes in any game last season, but he finished with six-plus rebounds 11 times. And according to HoopLens, Memphis’ opponents’ offensive rebound rate was 29.9% with him on the floor, down from 33.2% when he sat.

Offensively, he has not shown to be much of a scorer at either college stop, reaching double figures just five times with a career high of 16 points back in January 2020. Lawson has averaged 4.2 points per game in his career.

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Stretching his legs in transition and making himself available for layups and dunks following cuts from the short corners are his top scoring methods. Lawson has also…