‘We knew she was going to be special.’ UK women found a perfect fit in the portal.

When Kenny Brooks hired assistant coach Ciara Gregory away from Charlotte at the start of May, Big Blue Nation (and beyond) began to wonder if veteran 49ers guard Dazia Lawrence might be joining her in Lexington.

Little did they know, Lawrence was already hoping she’d get to spend her final season of college basketball at UK. She spoke at Wednesday’s SEC Women’s Basketball Media Day about her path to Lexington.

“My coach was transitioning to Kentucky,” Lawrence said. “So she told me at first, probably, like a few days in, I was in the portal ... and we were at our old gym, and I’m playing with her. I said, say, ‘Coach, (is) Coach Brooks going to come recruit me?’ I was just saying that as a joke. I was like, ‘Coach, can he look at my film? I’d love to go to Kentucky and play for him.’”

Lawrence, a fan of now-teammate and former Virginia Tech point guard Georgia Amoore, was familiar with Brooks’ recent Hokies teams.

“Of course, watching their games, you see the coach a little bit,” Lawrence said. “He’s always just sitting there on the side on his stool. He’ll get up when he’s excited, but I’ve just seen that he’s very controlled. He’s a very controlled, level-headed — most of the time — level-headed coach.”

When Lawrence jokingly asked Gregory, all those months ago, if Brooks would consider taking her, Gregory answered with a question.

“She looked at me and she said, ‘You for real?’”

As Lawrence tells it, Gregory returned “probably about an hour or something later.”

“She was like, ‘This is me, coming to you to recruit you for Kentucky,’” Lawrence said. “I said, ‘Coach C, stop playing. Like, get out of here. Like you’re really playing.’ She’s like, ‘No, I’m for real.’ And so that process, I think the next day, I got a chance to talk to Coach Brooks. So it all happened so quick, but it was also like, ‘Wow, this is so hilarious.’ I just asked her as a joke, but then it turned out to be my reality now.”

Lawrence’s time in Lexington hasn’t gone according to script, but little in her career has.

She was redshirted her freshman season (2019-20), then opted out of the following season after five games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though she’d technically been at Charlotte for two years, Lawrence entered the 2021-22 campaign with just 45 minutes of playing time and 11 total points. The following season, she delivered 3.0 points and 1.2 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.

To call what came next a massive shift would be an understatement. The 5-foot-8 North Carolina native not only became the 49ers’ leading scorer, but became more of a leader herself; during her final two seasons in Charlotte, Lawrence made 60 starts in 61 games, and averaged more than 17.5 points in over 33.0 minutes per game. She was named a 2022-23 Conference USA first-teamer and, following Charlotte’s move to the American Athletic Conference, earned 2023-24 AAC first-team honors, as well.

Outside of what he was able to accomplish in recent years at Virginia Tech, Brooks stood out to Lawrence, she said, through his knowledge, history of player development and his character. With just one season of eligibility remaining, it mattered to her that she felt confident in her final collegiate destination.

“I just love Coach Brooks,” Lawrence said. “One, his knowledge of the game. He’s very knowledgeable of the game. I love what he does with one-year athletes, since I’m only here for a year. The goals that he has for just himself, for his players, is amazing. He pushes you to be the best. And he was very upfront with me from the beginning. He let me know that he wanted me, but there was other options out there, of course. But he was just very honest, open and he made me feel confident that Kentucky is where I’m supposed to be, and if I come here, I’ll reach my goals that I would like to reach.”

One of 11 new Wildcats on Brooks’ inaugural roster, Lawrence was always meant to bring confidence and experience. She — alongside Amoore and fellow graduate transfer Jordan Obi (Penn) — is a 1,000-point scorer and, on a team packed with players who may lack Power Four experience, was asked to take on significant responsibility for the Wildcats. That’s only increased in the wake of the offseason lower-leg injuries sustained by Obi (who will be reevaluated in January) and Oregon State transfer Dominika Paurová (who is out for the season with a torn ACL).

When asked at media day about Lawrence’s fit and responsibility, Brooks said she “has done a tremendous job for us. I’m very proud of her.”

“We knew she was going to be special to us,” Brooks said. “With her experience playing in a different conference with (Charlotte), and she hasn’t disappointed. Her leadership, her experience has been very valuable to us. If anything, we’ve had to tell her to be a little bit more aggressive, because she fits exactly what we needed in that spot, especially with the injuries that we’ve had. She’s willing to step up, and she’s becoming more and more comfortable in her role as a leader on a team that she didn’t know. So I’ve been very excited about her productivity.”

A new perspective

Another thing Brooks asked of Lawrence this offseason? To improve her shooting.

During the four seasons in which Lawrence suited up for the 49ers, her field goal percentage peaked at 43.9% during the 2022-23 campaign. And, last year, she shot 42.6% from the field, including 31.3% from beyond the arc.

“My 3-point percentage last year was probably like 30-something percent,” Lawrence said. “Very low. And that was one thing that Coach Brooks mentioned to me on my visit, he said, ‘When you come here, we’re gonna work on your shot.’ So that’s one thing that I’ve been harping on, me and (Gregory). We worked on my shot, very tediously, all summer. All summer long, just fixing up the footwork, how I landed, things like that. ...We’ve been working on the little things and fixing my shot to make it more efficient, and to make shots during the game. Because I was making them a lot of times in practice, just not during the games, so just translating that over.”

Fans didn’t have to wait long to see the fruits of her labor; Lawrence caught the eyes of many fans last week at Big Blue Madness with an impressive showing in the 3-point contest, defeating Amoore, returning point guard Cassidy Rowe and sharpshooter Amelia Hassett.

Funnily enough, Lawrence didn’t sign up for it — she has Gregory to thank for that, too.

“Big Blue Madness came, and she was like, ‘You’re in the 3-point contest,’” Lawrence said. “I said, ‘Me?’ So that preparation was fun. I remember the first time I did it, I only made like 12. And I was out of breath. I was like, ‘Somebody can come replace me right now.’ But after doing it a couple times, I think my highest in practice was like 25, so I stopped right there. I said, ‘OK, this is it. I’m not gonna do it again until BBM, until madness.’ So just being in the atmosphere for Madness, it was fun. I had no expectations. I was just going out there to have fun, but when I realized that I made it to the finals, I was like, ‘You made it to the finals. Might as well go and win it now.’ So it was just amazing. It was fun.”

Aside from surprising herself in the 3-point contest, Lawrence described her first Big Blue Madness as “just amazing,” and “a pleasure.”

“It was so fun,” Lawrence said. “Just the crowd, I think, when we were getting introduced. The crowd going crazy seeing our faces on the court. ... I always watched it whenever I had the chance, but being a part of it, it was just different. It’s just different. I think Big Blue Madness is the best madness in the country. And I know Coach Brooks has said it a few times, but once you’re in that atmosphere, it’s just like, wow. It’s a magical feeling, honestly.”

Off the court, Lawrence said she’s finding her way, too. Outside of the warm welcome from the fan base, she’s enjoyed getting to know Lexington alongside her new teammates and staff. When asked about the transition to Lexington, she noted it reminds her of home.

“(The transition has) been pretty smooth, actually,” Lawrence said. “Lexington is a small town. It reminds me of my hometown, I’m from Greenville, North Carolina, so it reminds me of that, just a small college town. So Lexington is considered small, but it’s a lot to do. A lot of places to eat. We know as athletes, we love to eat, but it just reminds me of home, honestly. ... The community has been very welcoming to just the transition of all the new players that has come. So everybody’s just been really helpful just with the transition. The players that did stay at Kentucky, they’ve been very helpful just to help us maneuver around campus if we need anything, and administration as well.”

The Wildcats, recently ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press preseason top 25, open the 2024-25 season at home on Nov. 4 against South Carolina-Upstate.

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