University of Minnesota Athletics
Brent Lawson Hired As Director of Basketball Operations
8/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Head men’s basketball coach Dan Monson announced today the hiring of Brent Lawson as Director of Basketball Operations. Lawson replaces James Ware who left the University to become an assistant coach at Utah State.
Lawson was captain of the 2004-05 Golden Gopher squad that qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Lawson led the Gophers to a 21-11 season, finishing fifth on the team in scoring at 7.3 points per game. He recorded career highs in every offensive category, including 62 steals which ranked second in the conference overall at 1.94 steals per game.
“We have a family mentality in our program and it’s great to welcome one of our family members back into our daily routine,” Monson said. “Brent brings instant credibility with our players to the Director of Basketball Operations position and his leadership as a player will bode well. Brent has all the characteristics we want in this position and we expect him to be a mentor for our current players.”
A mechanical engineering major, Lawson was twice named Academic All-Big Ten and was Minnesota’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award in 2005. Most recently, Lawson worked as a mechanical engineer at Logic Product Development in Minneapolis and was an assistant coach at DeLaSalle High School.
“It feels good to be back with the Golden Gopher Basketball family,” Lawson said. “I have a lot of respect for Coach Monson for what he did for me as a player. I’m looking forward to using my experiences as a Gopher player to the role I will have as Director of Basketball Operations.”
Lawson will begin his duties in early September.
