NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When Tyrin Lawrence officially signed in April to start his college career at Vanderbilt, that moment was a lifetime in the making.
“I’m very excited – I’ve been working for this my entire life,” Lawrence said about the opportunity to play at the next level. “I’m just thankful to be able to have this experience and live out my dream of playing college basketball.”
A 6-foot-4 guard from the small town of Monticello, Georgia, Lawrence left his home state after the 2018-19 season – and after he was named first-team all-state in Georgia’s Class 3A – to play for Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas where he averaged 13 points, five assists and four rebounds per game. Lawrence reportedly received scholarship offers from Gonzaga, Ole Miss, Kansas State, California and more.
But he continued to gravitate toward Vandy and head coach Jerry Stackhouse. Lawrence said Stackhouse’s honesty and optimism stood out through his recruiting process and that he and his new coach developed a rapport that allowed them to converse about anything outside of the game of basketball.
“During recruiting we discussed a lot and obviously we talked about how I fit with the program and all the ways Vanderbilt and he can help me,” Lawrence said. “But we discussed more than just recruiting. We discussed some things that are going on in today’s society, each other’s families and he even shared a little Black history with me.
“I also believe coach ‘Stack’ and his staff can get me to where I want to be as a basketball player. He’s played at the highest level so I can’t wait to just learn from him. Then the education at Vanderbilt speaks for itself – that was a big factor as well.”
Proud to announce that I’m committing to Vanderbilt University #AnchorDown ⚓️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/7GjFfgwPaW
— Tyrin Lawrence (@tyrinlawrence) April 9, 2020
Lawrence played at Morgan County High School and has been called, “simply one of the very best in history to don the red and black uniform,” by the Morgan County Citizen. He led MCHS to the 2019 Class 3A state championship by scoring 19 points and collecting a whopping 18 boards in the title game victory.
6”4 Post Grad Guard Tyrin Lawrence recruitment has leapfrogged in his prep year. It all started with an improved work ethic in the gym & weight room. Thanks for the recognition @AdamFinkelstein @yurviewsports pic.twitter.com/Ur9Hhgis2Z
— Sunrise Basketball (@sunrisehoops) January 30, 2020
Now Lawrence is ready to bring his winning spirit and competitive flow to West End.
“I feel as if the fans should expect great things from me on both sides of the floor,” he said. “Defensively I can guard multiple positions and on the offensive end I can score from all the levels – and I love passing the ball.
“Coming into this year my mindset will just be set on getting better every day. If I show up and work hard every day I feel like the results will show just that. ‘Get better every day,’ is definitely the motto.”
Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com. Follow him @MrChadBishop.
