#4
Junior • 2V
Guard
6-1 • 225
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Abraham Lincoln
On Lawrence: A tremendous playmaker with the
ability to distribute the ball or find a way to score … the BIG
EAST’s No. 2 returning assist man this season, second only to
Marquette’s Dominic James … finished fourth in the BIG EAST a
season ago with 5.9 assists per game … a tough, hard-nosed and
tenacious on-ball defender ... uses strength and anticipation
skills to get in the passing lanes … an ever-maturing floor leader
for the Red Storm … can knock down the open shot from long
range.
Norm Roberts on Lawrence: “Eugene had a very
good year last year. His confidence level really rose throughout
the season and he became a true leader for our team. The terrific
thing about Geno is that he brings it every single day. He is
unbelievably competitive, and he wants to be the best of everything
he does. We are going to need his leadership on the court at the
point guard position or at the guard position. He brings a great
intensity defensively to our team. We will look for Geno to have a
very good year.”
As a Sophomore in 2005-06: Started all of
the team’s 27 games at point guard and averaged 32.3 minutes per
game … along with Lamont Hamilton, was one of two Red Storm players
to start every contest … averaged 9.3 points per game, good enough
for third on the squad, averaged 9.9 ppg in BIG EAST matchups, and
registered 13 games of double-figure scoring … 4.9 assists led St.
John’s and ranked fourth among all BIG EAST players … finished
third on the team with a 4.8 rebounds per game average … recorded
26 multi-assist games and 21 performances of four assists or more …
ranked 10th in the conference in steals (1.6 spg) … scored a
career-high 22 points in the regular season finale against Rutgers
(March 5) ... knocked down 6-of-10 field goal attempts against the
Scarlet Knights and 4-of-8 3-pointers, while dishing out seven
assists and committing just one turnover … made a career-high tying
7-of-9 free throws on his way to 15 points, three rebounds and four
assists at then-No. 4/4 Villanova (March 1) ... dished nine assists
to go along with six points in St. John’s road win at Rutgers (Feb.
15) … netted seven points, tied a career-high with 10 rebounds and
recorded four assists against then-No. 9 West Virginia (Jan. 29) …
contributed 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three
assists and made three steals at then-No. 1 UConn (Jan. 25) …
netted 10 points, grabbed five boards and dished four assists in
the Red Storm win over No. 9/9 Pitt (Jan. 21) … logged the team’s
first 12 points of the game and finished with 18 in a victory over
then-No. 17/15 Louisville (Jan. 17) ... put in a superlative
double-double effort in St. John’s BIG EAST opener at Seton Hall
(Jan. 4), scoring 14 points and recording a career-high 10 assists
… made a pair of 3-pointers against the Pirates, and grabbed five
rebounds in a career-high 42 minutes in the overtime game … named
the MVP of the 2005 Panasonic Holiday Festival after averaging 10.5
points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in helping St. John’s capture
its second-straight title in that event … connected on 4-of-5 field
goals and 3-of-3 3-pointers in scoring 12 points and recording
eight assists against Columbia (Dec. 27) ... also grabbed five
rebounds and had two steals in 33 minutes against the Lions …
averaged 11.3 ppg and 5.3 assists across an early
non-conference stretch against Stony Brook (Dec. 7), Virginia Tech
(Dec. 10) and Marist (Dec. 17) … contributed 11 points and nine
rebounds in a victory over Niagara (Nov. 26) … scored seven points
with nine boards in the Red Storm’s season opener vs. UMES (Nov.
19).
As a Freshman in 2004-05: Appeared in all 27
games as a freshman, drawing 20 starts and 19 straight to close the
season ... 7.3 points per game average was fourth on the squad and
third among returning players … 105 assists on the season (3.9 per
game) led the team … recorded 23 multi-assist games and registered
16 games of four or more assists … contributed 3.8 rebounds per
game ... netted 14 points, drilling a career-high four 3-pointers
with three assists and three boards, in his first collegiate start
vs. Illinois State (Dec. 4) ... scored eight points, grabbed five
boards and had four steals at Hofstra (Dec. 11) ... tallied five
points, four rebounds and five assists vs. Marist (Dec. 19) ...
netted five points, grabbed four rebounds and dished seven assists
vs. Canisius (Dec. 28) in the Holiday Festival ... scored 10
points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four assists against NC
State (Dec. 30) en route to Holiday Festival all-tournament honors
... registered four assists and posted four steals at West Virginia
(Jan. 8) ... contributed a pair of three-pointers, scored eight
points and had five assists in a victory over No. 21 Pittsburgh
(Jan. 18) ... scored 18 points, connecting on 6-of-11 shots from
the field, grabbed seven rebounds and dished five assists against
Boston College (Jan. 22) ... tallied 13 points and four boards
against Seton Hall (Jan. 29) ... totaled 10 points at home against
Rutgers (Feb. 2) ... contributed 10 points, including a 7-for-8
performance from the free throw line, with three steals and two
assists at Pittsburgh (Feb. 8) ... scored 10 points with five
rebounds and a career-high tying seven assists in a win at home
over Georgetown (Feb. 20) ... netted 12 points and had a
career-high five steals at Syracuse (Feb. 23) ... scored four
points with five assists and four steals against Duke (Feb. 26) ...
totaled 14 points at Providence (March 1) to finish the season with
nine double-digit scoring performances.
At Abraham Lincoln High School: A high
school teammate of Portland Trailblazers lottery selection
Sebastian Telfair, sharing backcourt duties with the highly-touted
guard ... named the Most Valuable Player of the New York Public
School Athletic League Championship in 2004 as a senior ... led
Lincoln to a 74-65 win over Bayside’s Cardozo High in March 2004
with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and no turnovers ...
high school coach was Dwayne “Tiny” Morton … averaged 14 points and
6.0 assists for the AAU Railsplitters in 2004-05.
Personal: Eugene E. Lawrence … born June 22,
1986 … son of Denise Lawrence … one of seven siblings, including
Tori (29), Cory (27), Stephanie (25), Geri (22), Tima (20) and
Bianca (18) … was the first New York City player to sign with St.
John's following Norm Roberts' hiring in April 2004 … was listed in
Who’s Who Among High School Students … majoring in
communications.
Lawrence Up Close…
Nickname: Geno.
One word to describe me on the court: Tough.
One word to describe me off the court: Easy
going.
If I can have dinner with any three people (in history or
today): Malcolm X, Paul Robeson and my mother.
The teammate that inspires me: Daryll Hill.