Kimani Lawrence expected to make ASU debut Thursday at Colorado

It’s hard to believe that after achieving the best start in school history and finding themselves pegged as a top-five basketball team that Arizona State could stand to improve. However, just one game into Pac-12 play, that appears to be the case for Bobby Hurley & Co.

Kimani Lawrence, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound freshman wing, is expected to make his collegiate debut Thursday, when the No. 4 Sun Devils visit Colorado.

The former four-star prospect (ranked No. 54 overall in the 2017 recruiting class by Scout.com and No. 60 by 247Sports) had missed ASU’s first 13 games after suffering a fracture in the fifth metatarsal his left foot during a mid-November practice, for which he underwent surgery on a few days later.

Lawrence was working through a series of the perfection drill inside Wells Fargo Arena when he suffered the injury. He went up for an offensive rebound, but landed awkwardly on the foot of his teammate, forward Zylan Cheatham, a San Diego State transfer who’s sitting out this year.

“When it happened, I already knew what it was,” Lawrence said.

As a junior at New Hampton High School (R.I.), Lawrence sustained the same injury on his right foot. The difference this time around was a shorter recovery period.

When Lawrence suffered the injury before, his recovery time “was a lot longer.” The latest instance only required him to miss just a little over six weeks after undergoing the procedure; he had been projected miss around that much time following the surgery.

“I stayed in the gym even when I was hurt like on the bike, the elliptical, getting form shooting in,” said Lawrence, “so it wasn’t like I was just sitting around. It went by faster than I thought it was going to go.”

Support from old AAU coaches, friends and family back home, as well as encouragement from his current cast of coaches and teammates, kept him in positive spirits throughout the recovery process.

Lawrence expressed relief over dealing with the injury at an earlier point in the season and not having to miss the entire campaign altogether.

“It’s been rough,” he admitted, “but it went by fast, so I can’t complain.”

ASU’s on-court success also kept Lawerence positive through his recovery. He took pride in watching the grit, fight and fearlessness the Sun Devils displayed en route to jumping out to the best start in school history.

“We fought through a lot of adversity in the summer, and it was good to see the hard work just pay off,” Lawrence said. “Especially in the years’ past, watching ASU struggle. The guys on the team, the seniors, really deserve it.”

Lawrence has been touted as being a significant addition to an already dangerous Sun Devils roster. He impressed during the team’s Europe trip in the offseason, as well as during two of ASU’s home preseason exhibition contests: against Northern State he finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists; against Arizona Christian scored 18 points on 7 of 8 field goals, including 3 of 4 three-pointers.

As for how he’ll be reintegrated into the squad, Lawrence said Hurley hasn’t specified a plan to him just yet.

Ahead of ASU’s Pac-12 opener at Arizona last week, ESPN reported that Lawrence would be available to play, however he didn’t see the floor. Hurley said afterwards that Lawrence would have only been used in an emergency and that it would’ve been “unfair” to put him into the game after only completing two live practices.

“I’m going to need to figure out how to best incorporate him into what we’re doing but even giving him an extra week for me, that just wasn’t the game for him after two days of live practice,” Hurley said. “Now he’s got another week under his belt, he looks so much better than last week.”

In fact, according to Hurley, Lawrence looked “fantastic” during Tuesday’s practice and was “the best he’s looked since the injury and gaining more confidence at getting him back on the floor.”

In Lawrence, the Sun Devils will add another multidimensional wing that will enable Hurley to implement more lineup combinations. Lawrence’s presence allows ASU to matchup with smaller lineups by playing him at the 4, while still maintaining the ability to roll out a traditional lineup featuring him at the 3.

“There isn’t just one thing that you say, ‘this is what he does,’” Hurley said of Lawrence. “He just does a little bit of everything. He’s a team player, he plays hard, he’s versatile. He can put it on the floor and he can play close to the basket. He’s got like a 7-foot wingspan which is going to be good for our defense, and he rebounds very well.

“So he does a little of everything. Guys really like playing with Kimani.”

One of the players who’s expressed their enjoyment of playing with Lawrence is senior guard Shannon Evans. Evans shared his excitement for Lawrence’s return last week ahead of the Arizona game.

“He can really shoot it,” Evans said. “He can score it, drive, defend as well. He’s 6-8, so he can rebound as well. He’s got a lot of [versatility]. He can do a lot of things, I would say.”

Lawrence understands that he offers a flexible asset to the team. However, he’s not 100 percent yet, and “with my skill set, I’ve still got some things to work on to get back to where I was before the season started.”

Regardless, ASU, already having proven itself as a legitimate contender in the Pac-12, will welcome Lawrence’s all-purpose skill set.

Lawerence admitted that he expects to feel a little nervous ahead of his collegiate debut, but is looking forward to finally getting his opportunity to play.

“I’m just trying to stay patient and not force anything, and not mess up the flow that the team got right now,” Lawrence said. “Just come in and do what I can to help the team win.”

This story appears on arizonasports.com courtesy of a partnership with SunDevilSource.com, part of the Scout Network and home for the most detailed information on Arizona State football.

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