Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
“Live Wire” Eli Lawrence key to Middle Tennessee’s Success
2/23/2022 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The sophomore guard has started every single game for the Blue Raiders this season
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It starts from the inbound pass. The opposing guard, in whatever color that night's opponent is wearing the Murphy Center, starts his quest upcourt, while a Blue Raider stays in his back pocket.
It's a team effort, to be sure. But when Middle Tennessee really wants to turn up the heat, it shifts its lanky, 6-foot-5 starting guard onto the ball handler. Now just breaking halfcourt, at first an annoyance, quickly becomes arduous. The tight pressure from the sophomore wing forcing crossovers, between-the-legs dribbles, even passes to help, wasting time and getting into their best player's legs.
Watching Eli Lawrence, the very lanky guard Nick McDevitt and the rest of the Blue Raiders turn to, play is relentless. One can only imagine how those opposing ball handlers feel.
"I feel like I guard anybody, match me up with your best player," Lawrence said. "That's the challenge I took this year. Coming in, I could always shoot the ball, I was offensive minded. Defensively, knowing that I can really be that guy for our team was my mindset."
Middle Tennessee men's basketball has turned a lot of heads not only around the mid-state, or even around Conference USA, but nationally this season, going from five wins in 2020-21 to 20 already this season. And Lawrence, who's started all 27 games for the Blue Raiders after starting in three the previous two seasons, has been a big part of why, McDevitt said.
"He and several other guys have really helped our team come together in a relatively short amount of time," McDevitt said. "It's comforting as a younger player or a less experienced player to have your go-to guys around you when you're out on the floor in those intense moments. I really think that's what Eli is. He brings a sense of confidence on the floor in his own ability, but also in his teammates' ability."
Only having Division II offers out of high school, Lawrence decided to attend prep school with the hopes of making it to the Division I level, where Blue Raider assistant Wes Long first noticed him. MT was Lawrence's first D1 offer, one he accepted very quickly, enrolling early in January 2019.
He was a key reserve over the next two seasons, averaging just under 16 minutes a game and around five points per game both seasons. An energy guy who often made big plays at both ends of the court, but also made mistakes from a high-risk, high-reward play style, particularly on defense.
Lawrence said he learned a lot from a lot of his teammates those first couple of seasons, including CJ Jones ("I watched his game and tried to mirror it a little bit my freshman year."), Antonio Green ("He was a hard worker, always in the gym, I'd try to be in the gym with him.") and Reggie Scurry, the Blue Raiders' current graduate assistant.
But perhaps the biggest thing he learned about himself was this: he hated losing.
"I wasn't expecting that," Lawrence said of the team's struggles his first two seasons. "After Middle offered me, I looked up the Michigan State win, so I was expecting a winning culture. It didn't start out that way.
"It was a little frustrating, because for me personally, I'd never been a part of a losing team or anything like that," he continued. "And it wasn't a talent thing, it was just some inner things that we had to work on. It didn't mess up my confidence or anything, but it was very frustrating."
Those "inner things" very quickly fixed themselves early in the 2021-22 cycle, where Lawrence said the team very quickly gelled around the competition that they had every day in practice. Trying to make the practice every day even more competitive than the games made those games seem easy by comparison.
For Lawrence, that added competition has helped on the courts, where he's playing nearly 25 minutes a game and has increased his shooting percentages across all three slash lines this season. That, along with smarter defending that sets up his teammates, has been what McDevitt is most excited about when it comes to Lawrence's growth.
"He's always kind of been a live wire," McDevitt said. "Just learning how to harness that effort and that energy is something that Eli has done a great job of. He's less of a risk taker, so-to-say, as he was early in his career. I don't mind mistakes when you can see that they're playing hard and that they're effort mistakes. And Eli has always been a guy that plays hard."
The level of effort has ultimately made him a key cog in the full court pressure this year's Blue Raiders like to bring, as has opened up parts of the game Lawrence hadn't unlocked yet. Embracing that defensive challenge, every single game.
"It's always a want-to thing for me," Lawrence said. "In high school, you don't have to really play as hard, because the competition might not be as good as it is in college. But in college, night in, night out, you're playing somebody good, you can't take any days off.
"I feel like my team rides behind me, especially on the defensive end, I feel like I get them going. That's what I try to do, I try to lead the right way. It might not be with my words, but I can lead by actions, and show them how to play while you're in between the lines."
Lawrence said the dream is still to play at the next level, but he's not worried about that right now. He's enjoying the blessing of getting a second sophomore year this year, as he turns 22 this month, as well as the fact he's gotten the chance to be a leader for this year's team. Always one of the first to celebrate his teammates' success, McDevitt said Lawrence helps those teammates play with more confidence.
"If you're out there and you're ever somewhat unsure of how things are going on the floor, when you can look over and see one of your main guys is playing confident and has confidence in you, that bodes well for your team," McDevitt said.
It's a team effort, to be sure. But when Middle Tennessee really wants to turn up the heat, it shifts its lanky, 6-foot-5 starting guard onto the ball handler. Now just breaking halfcourt, at first an annoyance, quickly becomes arduous. The tight pressure from the sophomore wing forcing crossovers, between-the-legs dribbles, even passes to help, wasting time and getting into their best player's legs.
Watching Eli Lawrence, the very lanky guard Nick McDevitt and the rest of the Blue Raiders turn to, play is relentless. One can only imagine how those opposing ball handlers feel.
"I feel like I guard anybody, match me up with your best player," Lawrence said. "That's the challenge I took this year. Coming in, I could always shoot the ball, I was offensive minded. Defensively, knowing that I can really be that guy for our team was my mindset."
Middle Tennessee men's basketball has turned a lot of heads not only around the mid-state, or even around Conference USA, but nationally this season, going from five wins in 2020-21 to 20 already this season. And Lawrence, who's started all 27 games for the Blue Raiders after starting in three the previous two seasons, has been a big part of why, McDevitt said.
"He and several other guys have really helped our team come together in a relatively short amount of time," McDevitt said. "It's comforting as a younger player or a less experienced player to have your go-to guys around you when you're out on the floor in those intense moments. I really think that's what Eli is. He brings a sense of confidence on the floor in his own ability, but also in his teammates' ability."
Only having Division II offers out of high school, Lawrence decided to attend prep school with the hopes of making it to the Division I level, where Blue Raider assistant Wes Long first noticed him. MT was Lawrence's first D1 offer, one he accepted very quickly, enrolling early in January 2019.
He was a key reserve over the next two seasons, averaging just under 16 minutes a game and around five points per game both seasons. An energy guy who often made big plays at both ends of the court, but also made mistakes from a high-risk, high-reward play style, particularly on defense.
Lawrence said he learned a lot from a lot of his teammates those first couple of seasons, including CJ Jones ("I watched his game and tried to mirror it a little bit my freshman year."), Antonio Green ("He was a hard worker, always in the gym, I'd try to be in the gym with him.") and Reggie Scurry, the Blue Raiders' current graduate assistant.
But perhaps the biggest thing he learned about himself was this: he hated losing.
"I wasn't expecting that," Lawrence said of the team's struggles his first two seasons. "After Middle offered me, I looked up the Michigan State win, so I was expecting a winning culture. It didn't start out that way.
"It was a little frustrating, because for me personally, I'd never been a part of a losing team or anything like that," he continued. "And it wasn't a talent thing, it was just some inner things that we had to work on. It didn't mess up my confidence or anything, but it was very frustrating."
Those "inner things" very quickly fixed themselves early in the 2021-22 cycle, where Lawrence said the team very quickly gelled around the competition that they had every day in practice. Trying to make the practice every day even more competitive than the games made those games seem easy by comparison.
For Lawrence, that added competition has helped on the courts, where he's playing nearly 25 minutes a game and has increased his shooting percentages across all three slash lines this season. That, along with smarter defending that sets up his teammates, has been what McDevitt is most excited about when it comes to Lawrence's growth.
"He's always kind of been a live wire," McDevitt said. "Just learning how to harness that effort and that energy is something that Eli has done a great job of. He's less of a risk taker, so-to-say, as he was early in his career. I don't mind mistakes when you can see that they're playing hard and that they're effort mistakes. And Eli has always been a guy that plays hard."
The level of effort has ultimately made him a key cog in the full court pressure this year's Blue Raiders like to bring, as has opened up parts of the game Lawrence hadn't unlocked yet. Embracing that defensive challenge, every single game.
"It's always a want-to thing for me," Lawrence said. "In high school, you don't have to really play as hard, because the competition might not be as good as it is in college. But in college, night in, night out, you're playing somebody good, you can't take any days off.
"I feel like my team rides behind me, especially on the defensive end, I feel like I get them going. That's what I try to do, I try to lead the right way. It might not be with my words, but I can lead by actions, and show them how to play while you're in between the lines."
Lawrence said the dream is still to play at the next level, but he's not worried about that right now. He's enjoying the blessing of getting a second sophomore year this year, as he turns 22 this month, as well as the fact he's gotten the chance to be a leader for this year's team. Always one of the first to celebrate his teammates' success, McDevitt said Lawrence helps those teammates play with more confidence.
"If you're out there and you're ever somewhat unsure of how things are going on the floor, when you can look over and see one of your main guys is playing confident and has confidence in you, that bodes well for your team," McDevitt said.
Players Mentioned
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