OLIVE BRANCH, MS -- The ARS Rescue Rooter Memphis National Hoopfest tipped off on Friday night and HoopSeen.com was at Olive Branch High School for the opening festivities. Two of the top teams in the city of Memphis, Lausanne (TN) and Wooddale (TN) matched up to open the event.

Despite a loss, 2021 Memphis (TN) Wooddale guard/wing Johnathan Lawson had another strong showing in his junior campaign. The smooth, 6-foot-7 prospect showed off his fluidity and versatility from start to finish. With an advanced skill-set and knack for scoring the basketball, he was a tough assignment for opposing Lausanne. Lawson had a game and night-high of 36 points.

Lawson was also extremely impressive a little over a month ago at the Lighthouse Classic, where he scored 29 points in an efficient 11 of 18 from the floor along with 16 rebounds. While he wasn't as efficient on Friday night, Lawson still showed his scoring prowess and ability to score the basketball in a variety of ways. The junior knocked down four 3's against Lausanne, but his most impressive feat was scoring around the basket against five-star big man Moussa Cisse. Lawson was able to mix it up and finish around the rim while also converting some runners and fade-aways over his left shoulder.

Johnathan is the last of the talented Lawson brothers that will suit up and play college basketball, and he has done his best to show that he may be the most promising of the four. Dedric had a standout career at Memphis and Kansas before signing with the San Antonio Spurs G-League affiliate, while K.J. currently is finishing his career at Tulane. Chandler is a freshman at Oregon this season. As expected, the youngest Lawson has no shortage of college interest.

"I have offers from Vanderbilt, Alabama, LSU, Oregon, TCU, Florida State, Iowa State, Missouri, and Tulane," he told HoopSeen.com. 

Vanderbilt dispatched an assistant coach to watch Lawson on Friday night. He hasn't taken any visits yet, but to this point the Commodores and LSU have made a positive impression in his recruitment and are currently standing out.

"I like the way Coach [Jerry] Stackhouse coaches at Vanderbilt. I've seen them play a few games on TV. We went to their team camp over there during the summer, but I haven't visited there yet."

"I like LSU a lot right now, too. I like how Coach [Will] Wade gets after it and the environment they have down there."

Lawson and his Wooddale teammates will have to have a short memory and shake off the loss as they take on a formidable opponent in Montverde Academy (FL) on Saturday night.