Lawrence finds good fit in Europe

After Matt Lawrence hit his first six three-pointers in last season’s blowout victory, a visiting reporter from China was so impressed that he asked the senior from St. Louis about his NBA prospects.

“Me?,” said Lawrence, humbled and shocked as if he’d been asked when he was going to cure cancer. “Oh, man.”

Lawrence loves basketball, but he’s also aware that he just doesn’t have the rare athleticism and natural talent it takes to play in the top professional league in the world. But that doesn’t mean he can’t still go pro.

The Tigers’ third leading scorer from last season signed a contract Monday with the Tromso Storm, the regular season champions of the top league in Norway, according to a Missouri press release. The European style of play should be a good fit for Lawrence, who made up for a lack of athleticism with a great shot and a high basketball IQ.

Few people predicted that the former walk-on would have such a productive career at Missouri, where he barely played as a freshman. By the time he graduated, Lawrence had made 244 three-pointers, placing him second on the Tigers’ all-time list behind the untouchable 332 made by Clarence Gilbert.

The six-foot-seven forward improved every season, and Coach Mike Anderson repeatedly told reporters that Lawrence’s scoring was far from his only contribution to the team. Certainly, his rebounding and court awareness improved a lot during his senior season, but he never really shook the label of three-point specialist.

Lawrence looked awkward at times when he got the ball close to the basket, and his defense was at times cover-your-eyes awful. Still, his leadership ability and willingness to come off the bench behind freshman Kim English was an integral part of Missouri’s surprise run to the Elite Eight.

I don’t know much of anything about BLNO, the Norwegian league, but I’m guessing it’s not one of the top leagues in Europe. According to Wikipedia, teams are only allowed to have two American players on the court at a time and must always have at least two Norwegian players in the lineup.

Missouri’s sports information director, Dave Reiter, didn’t know the exact details of the contract, but he did say Lawrence turned down offers from teams in Portugal and Ireland. That makes it a safe bet that Lawrence is one of the few players in the league who will be paid to play full-time.

The former Tiger should do well at Tromso, who has a longtime American coach in Jeff Lange. Assuming the other contract offers were similar, I think Norway was the right choice with its picturesque landscapes and of course, the alluring Scandinavian women.

He’ll have to get used to a little different atmosphere at games, considering Tromso’s home stadium holds only 2,500 fans, or less than one-sixth of the capacity at Mizzou Arena.

Maybe that will finally give him the courage to go for a dunk on a fast break once in a while, rather than the fundamentally sound layups to which Tigers’ fans became accustomed.

Either way, it’s no surprise to anyone that knows him that Lawrence is following a career path that involves basketball. If he ever stops playing, look for him to join the coaching ranks, and maybe even work his way back to Mizzou.