Gani Lawal Class: Junior Hometown: Norcross, Ga. High School: Norcross Height / Weight: 6-9 / 233 Position: Forward Birthdate: 11/07/1988 Experience: 2 letters

Gani Lawal Photo Gallery

At Tech

> High-energy player with great athletic ability, runs the floor very well ... Skilled in all areas of the game, scoring, rebounding, passing.

> Statistically the most improved player in the ACC last year, more than doubling his scoring average (+7.9) and rebounds (+6.0) and nearly doubling his playing time (+12.3) over his freshman year.

> Scored in double digits in 26 of 31 games last season and 35 times for his career.

2008-09

> Third-team All-ACC honoree who has developed into a dominant post scorer and rebounder ... Averaged in double figures in both points and rebounds for the season's first 26 games, finished as Tech's leading rebounder and second-leading scorer.

> Led the ACC in rebounding average until the last week of the regular season ... Finished second (25th nationally) after averaging 6.9 over the last nine games (one in double figures, 14 vs. Clemson in ACC Tournament).

> Ranked second in the ACC in field goal percentage (55.6 pct.) and was 32-for-49 (65.3 pct.) in his final five games ... Ranked 16th in scoring average.

> Led the ACC in 10-rebound games (18) and double-doubles (15) ... Fell one rebound shy of a double-double on three other occasions (Mercer, Virginia, second Clemson game).

> By the season's 14th game, had exceeded his freshman-year totals in points and rebounds, and most other statistical categories.

> Reached double-digit rebounds in nine straight games from Jan. 6 vs. Georgia to Feb. 8 vs. Maryland ... Grabbed a career-high 17 boards against Duke ... Snagged 16 boards against Tennessee State, 15 of them in the second half.

> Able to get the ball down low consistently for lay-ins, dunks and bank shots from short range ... Took a high percentage of his rebounds on the offensive end (led the ACC with 3.6 per game).

> His 25 points Jan. 31 against Wake Forest were a career-best against an ACC opponent (had four 20-point games against ACC foes) ... Finished the season four points shy of 700 for his career.

> His 34 points against Penn State were the most points by a Tech player since Will Bynum scored 35 on 3/12/05 against North Carolina in the ACC Tournament ... Set career highs for field goals (15) and attempts (20).

2007-08

> Averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in a six-game stretch before UConn (1-for-6 FG) on Feb. 9, including a 15-point, six-rebound effort at Virginia (J27), his high for an ACC game ... Also had a solid 13-point effort (6-7 FG) at NC State in which he blocked five shots, and 13 points (6-9 FG) with six boards against North Carolina.

> Scored 10 points (5-of-6 FG) with four rebounds at Duke, snapping a streak of six games in single digits, and scored 13 vs. Clemson in Tech's final home game ... Averaged 5.0 points and was 5-for-11 from the floor in two ACC Tournament games.

> Led Tech in field goal percentage (57.0) for the season, and hit 56.0 percent in ACC regular-season games.

> More than half (31 of 58) of his rebounds in ACC games came on the offensive glass, nearly half (58 of 132) in all games.

> Scored most of his points near the basket and developed some excellent post moves ... Shot more free throws than anyone on the team except Jeremis Smith, but converted only 49.5 percent.

> Had nine double-figure scoring games, including 12 in his debut against UNC Greensboro and 13 vs. Tennessee Tech.

> Led team with 32 blocked shots.

High School

> Named Mr. Basketball in the state of Georgia both by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Atlanta Tip-Off Club following his senior year ... Also named to the McDonald's All-America team and was a second-team Parade magazine All-American ... Two-time all-state choice in Georgia for head coach Eddie Martin at Norcross High School after transferring from Riverdale High School.

> Averaged 18.4 points (shot 73 percent from the floor), 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots a game to lead Norcross to the AAAAA state championship in 2007 ... Scored 31 points with 13 rebounds and six blocked shots in the title game to lead Norcross to a 58-57 win over Centennial ... As a junior in 2005-06, averaged 17.1 points (64 pct. FG), 10.2 rebounds, 4.7 blocked shots, helping Norcross to a 29-4 record and the AAAAA state crown.

> Ranked as high as No. 27 among senior prep players by Rivals.com, No. 35 by Scout.com ... No. 7 among power forwards.

> Scored 12 points (5-12 FG, 2-5 FT) with a game-high 12 rebounds in the 2007 McDonald's All-American Game, and was given the Naismith Award for Sportsmanship at halftime ... Also played in the 2007 Chicago Roundball Classic ... Finalist for USA Basketball's Under-18 National team in 2006.

> Second-team all-state selection at Riverdale in 2005, averaged 18.1 points, 14.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks in 25 games ... Third-team all-state as a freshman in 2004, averaging 10.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.1 blocks as Riverdale went 20-10 and made the state round of 16.

> Carried a 3.8 grade-point average at Norcross while taking Advanced Placement and honors courses, and made his school's academic honor roll four years ... Also a member of the Beta Club and the Student Council.

Personal

> Full name is Gani Oladimeji Lawal, Jr. ... Born November 7, 1988 in College Park, Ga. ... Son of Michelle and Gani Lawal, Sr., a real estate and mortgage broker ... Has two sisters, Khalilah and Chasitie and one brother, Khalil ... Majoring in Management.

Lawal Game-by-Game

                                         |---TOTAL---| |---3-PTS---|             |----REBOUNDS----|
2007-08                Date     GS  Min   FG-FGA   Pct 3FG-FGA   Pct  FT-FTA  Pct Off Def  Tot  Avg  PF FO   A  TO Blk Stl  Pts  Avg
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNC GREENSBORO         11/9/07       21    5-8    .625   0-0    .000   2-3   .667   1   5    6  6.0   3  0   0   3   0   1   12 12.0
at Tennessee State     11/11/07      13    1-4    .250   0-0    .000   2-4   .500   2   2    4  5.0   3  0   0   1   0   0    4  8.0
vs Charlotte           11/16/07      12    1-2    .500   0-0    .000   3-4   .750   1   2    3  4.3   4  0   1   2   1   0    5  7.0
vs Winthrop            11/18/07      19    2-4    .500   0-0    .000   0-0   .000   1   2    3  4.0   1  0   1   0   0   0    4  6.3
vs Notre Dame          11/19/07      17    0-0    .000   0-0    .000   1-2   .500   0   1    1  3.4   3  0   1   1   0   0    1  5.2
at Indiana             11/27/07      16    8-12   .667   0-0    .000   1-3   .333   1   2    3  3.3   4  0   0   0   3   1   17  7.2
at Vanderbilt          12/1/07       15    2-3    .667   0-0    .000   0-1   .000   2   0    2  3.1   4  0   0   4   0   0    4  6.7
at Georgia State       12/05/07  *   14    4-5    .800   0-0    .000   0-0   .000   1   1    2  3.0   2  0   0   1   0   0    8  6.9
KANSAS                 12/18/07  *   14    2-2   1.000   0-0    .000   1-1  1.000   0   2    2  2.9   2  0   0   2   0   0    5  6.7
CENTENARY              12/22/07  *   16    2-3    .667   0-0    .000   2-3   .667   2   2    4  3.0   2  0   0   3   3   0    6  6.6
TENNESSEE TECH         12/27/07  *   15    5-6    .833   0-0    .000   3-6   .500   2   6    8  3.5   4  0   0   0   2   2   13  7.2
FLORIDA STATE          12/30/07  *   20    2-3    .667   0-0    .000   2-2  1.000   0   1    1  3.3   2  0   1   2   2   0    6  7.1
PRESBYTERIAN           1/6/08    *   19    5-7    .714   0-0    .000   3-9   .333   5   4    9  3.7   2  0   0   0   0   1   13  7.5
at Georgia             1/9/08    *    9    0-1    .000   0-1    .000   0-4   .000   1   2    3  3.6   2  0   0   1   0   0    0  7.0
at Miami (Fla.)        1/12/08   *   12    0-3    .000   0-0    .000   0-0   .000   1   4    5  3.7   2  0   0   4   0   2    0  6.5
NORTH CAROLINA         1/16/08   *   16    6-9    .667   0-0    .000   1-2   .500   6   0    6  3.9   5  1   0   0   0   0   13  6.9
VIRGINIA TECH          1/19/08   *   20    3-8    .375   0-0    .000   2-4   .500   3   1    4  3.9   4  0   0   1   1   2    8  7.0
at NC State            1/23/08   *   21    6-7    .857   0-0    .000   1-3   .333   4   1    5  3.9   2  0   0   1   5   0   13  7.3
at Virginia            1/27/08   *   22    5-7    .714   0-0    .000   5-12  .417   3   3    6  4.1   1  0   2   1   2   0   15  7.7
MARYLAND               2/2/08    *   16    3-3   1.000   0-0    .000   3-6   .500   2   2    4  4.1   5  1   0   5   2   0    9  7.8
at Wake Forest         2/6/08    *   24    3-6    .500   0-0    .000   1-2   .500   3   1    4  4.0   2  0   0   2   1   1    7  7.8
at Connecticut         2/9/08    *   18    1-6    .167   0-0    .000   0-1   .000   0   1    1  3.9   3  0   0   1   0   0    2  7.5
at Clemson             2/14/08   *   13    3-6    .500   0-0    .000   0-2   .000   4   0    4  3.9   4  0   0   1   0   0    6  7.4
MIAMI (FLA.)           2/17/08   *   16    0-3    .000   0-0    .000   2-2  1.000   0   2    2  3.8   1  0   0   1   1   0    2  7.2
at Virginia Tech       2/23/08   *   21    1-5    .200   0-0    .000   2-4   .500   1   2    3  3.8   3  0   1   3   0   0    4  7.1
at Duke                2/27/08   *   24    5-6    .833   0-0    .000   0-0   .000   2   2    4  3.8   3  0   0   1   2   0   10  7.2
WAKE FOREST            3/1/08    *   27    2-4    .500   0-0    .000   4-6   .667   0   5    5  3.9   4  0   1   3   2   0    8  7.2
VIRGINIA               3/3/08    *   17    1-1   1.000   0-0    .000   3-4   .750   1   2    3  3.8   0  0   0   3   2   0    5  7.1
CLEMSON                3/6/08    *   23    4-7    .571   0-0    .000   5-9   .556   0   0    0  3.7   1  0   0   1   2   1   13  7.3
at Boston College      3/8/08    *   14    3-6    .500   0-0    .000   0-0   .000   1   1    2  3.6   2  0   1   3   0   0    6  7.3
vs Virginia            3/13/08   *   12    1-4    .250   0-0    .000   0-0   .000   0   0    0  3.5   3  0   0   1   0   1    2  7.1
vs Duke                3/14/08   *   18    4-7    .571   0-0    .000   0-0   .000   2   2    4  3.5   1  0   0   2   1   0    8  7.2
Totals......................... 25  554   90-158  .570   0-1    .000  49-99  .495  52  61  113  3.5  84  2   9  54  32  12  229  7.2