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Jason Lawson sparking a revival at Olney as Trojans push for state playoff bid

02/20/2020, 10:45am EST
By Mitchell Gladstone


Former Villanova standout Jason Lawson (above) is now head coach at his alma mater, Olney. (Photo: Mitchell Gladstone/CoBL)

Mitchell Gladstone (@mpgladstone13)
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Jason Lawson gathered his Olney team inside a small classroom just off the court at Imhotep Charter.

The Trojans were quiet, unsure if that was the last time they would step on a court together, following a 59-46 loss to the Public League powerhouse Panthers.

By the time Lawson emerged from Olney’s makeshift locker room, though, the third-year coach couldn’t help but remark at how far his team had come.

“If you were going to ask me at the beginning of the season whether we were going to go 21-4, I would’ve said 'probably not,'” Lawson said. “But that’s a testament to the guys and how hard they work. They’ve bought into what we’re trying to do and it’s just a culture that we’re trying to instill at Olney.”

It’s Lawson’s handiwork that has the Trojans playing into late February, as they’ll take on Boys’ Latin in a do-or-die game Friday afternoon. The winner will then meet St. Joe’s Prep next week for the final District 12 spot in the Class 6A state playoffs.

Just the opportunity alone might have seemed unfathomable five years ago when Olney finished the 2014-15 campaign 1-15.

But Simon Gratz coach Lynard Stewart knew a turnaround was coming as soon as he learned that Lawson was returning to take the helm at his alma mater.

“We always have our annual preseason coaches meeting,” Stewart recalled. “I thought Jason was there with Martin Luther King [where Lawson was previously an assistant].

"Then I realized and was like, ‘Hold up, you’re at Olney.’”

Stewart, who played for Gratz and matched up against Lawson when the pair were in high school, immediately scheduled a game between the two schools for the following season.

By that time, Lawson had really gotten things rolling at Olney. The Trojans wound up knocking off Gratz on the road, part of a five-game unbeaten start that Olney ultimately parlayed into a 19-3 campaign.

Getting to that point, however, was the real challenge.

“Everybody wants to go to schools that are already winning,” Lawson said. “You have to sell them on being a part of the culture, being a part of something special. … We’re a family — we play for each other [and] we fight for one another.”

And the climb is even steeper for public schools like Olney and Gratz, which have to deal with constant player movement.

“That’s the dynamic a lot of people don’t understand,” Stewart said. “You don’t know what you’re going to get each year. You might have a couple of core guys. ... But [often], you don’t know what you have and sometimes your talent level is low.”

Two decades ago, that wasn’t a problem at either school. That was back when neighborhood schools like Olney, Gratz, Strawberry Mansion, West Philadelphia, Overbrook, South Philadelphia and others dominated the Pub, before the rise of charter schools that now are the major force in the city on a year-to-year basis.

Lawson was twice an All-City honoree at Olney before going on to play at Villanova, where he averaged 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds.

And Gratz had not just Stewart — who would later play for Temple — but also Rasheed Wallace, the 1993 national high school player of the year and eventually a four-time NBA All-Star.

But Lawson’s pro career didn’t take as straightforward a path as that of Wallace. After the Denver Nuggets selected Lawson in the second round of the 1997 draft, the 6-foot-11 center lasted just 17 games with the Orlando Magic.

He then made stops in Spain, France, Greece, Mexico and Jordan before finally stepping away from the game for good as a player in 2008.

The biggest lesson Lawson took from those 11 globetrotting years was simple: Never take moments on the court for granted.

“Once you get an opportunity to play, you’ve got to play your heart out because you never know when the opportunities will come again,” Lawson said. “You’ve got to be prepared and then be locked in mentally when you’re out there.”

Lawson’s team had one heck of an opportunity last week when it got within seven of three-time reigning Class 4A champ Imhotep in the final two minutes. The Trojans feature senior Siddiq McNair, who scored 21 against the Panthers, as well as classmate Rashad Rayford and sophomore Sabree Glover, each of whom added 10.

And while a 19-point hole was ultimately too much for Olney to climb out of, the Trojans showed why they’ll consistently be a tough test next season.

Lawson expects his team to move up to Division A, where they’ll match up with big-time programs like ‘Tep, Gratz, MCS, Constitution and King. He’ll get to make that jump with several returners including big man Sean Robinson, which should help in the transition.

But it’ll be yet another challenge that Olney is eager to take on.

“We moved up last year and the year before,” Lawson said. “Tougher competition is better. … We’ll compete and put out a product that plays together, plays for each other and focuses on going deep.”


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Tag(s): Home  Boys HS  Public League A (B)  Imhotep  Martin Luther King  Simon Gratz  Public League B (B)  Olney  Public League (B)