'You own that.' How Dazia Lawrence's upbringing molded her into the elite player she is today

In her last two seasons at Charlotte, Dazia Lawrence was flat-out dominant. Even at 5-foot-8, she found ways to score and make an impact for the 49ers. In 2022-23, Lawrence averaged 16.9 points per game, and everyone in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) took notice of her.

Then, last season, she improved on that even more. In what was a 1st-Team All-AAC campaign, Lawrence averaged 18.2 points per game. Offensively, she is as good as they get. Lawrence carries herself with a level of confidence that allows her to simply do whatever she wants on the hardwood.

However, that wasn’t always the case.

Her relationship with her grandmother and how it got her to UK

Soon after Lawrence announced her intentions to transfer to Kentucky, KSR spoke with her grandmother, Beverly Lawrence, about how her upbringing helped mold her into the person and player she is today. From when Dazia was roughly a one-year-old to when she was in 6th grade, she lived with Beverly.

Whether it was going to Hardee’s to get breakfast before school or playing softball together, her grandmother has always played a big role in her life.

Beverly always took extra care of Dazia growing up. She was Beverly’s first grandchild, and as she put it, Dazia was “like a daughter more than a granddaughter”. When Beverly got married in 2004, Dazia was actually one of her bridesmaids — one of the flower girls.

When Dazia was deciding where she wanted to go, she called Beverly for advice. During Dazia’s recruitment process, she got on a FaceTime call with Kenny Brooks, and of course, Beverly. Brooks raved about how mature Dazia was for her age (young adults are just big kids, basically), and Brooks was just as fond of Beverly as he was of Dazia.

Beverly and Brooks got to talking over the phone, and it came up that Beverly had “coached” Dazia either from the couch or by giving her pregame motivation, and so that led Brooks to ask if he could call Beverly “Coach Grandma”. So, that nickname has stuck.

Brooks then said, “I might have to get you down here and get the referee straight.” At that point, after seeing just how appreciative and kind Brooks was not only towards Dazia, but Beverly too, it seemed like the move to Kentucky would be a really good fit.

After Dazia committed to Kentucky, her first phone call went to Beverly. What was the first thing she said?

“Grandma, can you send me some money so I can get me some lunch?”

Safe to say that Dazia knows that Beverly will always be there to take care of her.

What Dazia was like growing up and how she got into sports

Even though Dazia may seem like a fierce competitor on the court a lot of the time (and, she is), she was also just a kind-hearted little girl at one time too.

“[Dazia] was just the ideal child,” Beverly told KSR. “She never was rebellious. Never talked back.” While Beverly did mention that Dazia was sassy sometimes, she raved about how great of a kid she was growing up.

On Dazia’s 6th birthday, Beverly and her husband, David, bought her a basketball goal to play on. Their family was always into sports, so this seemed like a fitting time to introduce Dazia to that world.

One day, while Beverly was cleaning around the house, she heard some children playing and a basketball bouncing outside. However, Dazia wasn’t playing. It was actually a group of boys who were playing as Dazia sat and watched.

“One Saturday I was vacuuming, and I heard a bouncing ball on the porch, but I heard some kids out there playing,” Beverly explained. “So, when I went out there, she was sitting on the porch. The neighbor’s little boys were playing basketball.”

The words that her basketball mindset would revolve around

Of course, it upset Beverly that some boys were playing on Dazia’s brand new goal while she sat to the side. However, what Beverly didn’t know is that when she sat down with Dazia later that day, she would tell her the words that would shape her into the star she is today.

“You own that. That is yours. All this out here, this is yours. This court is yours. When you get that ball, you shoot it. Go get it, you own it. That’s you.”

Dazia would take those words from Beverly, and that would quickly become her mindset on the court. After moving from Greenville to Charlotte in middle school, Dazia would dominate at every level all the way up to the AAU competition in North Carolina. That landed her a spot with the Charlotte 49ers.

The mentality that Beverly instilled in Dazia allowed her to become one of the most feared players in not just the AAC, but the entire nation when the ball got in her hands.

Dazia went from sitting to the side and watching other kids play on her goal to taking over the court and becoming one of the premier players in all of college basketball.

Now, Dazia will help headline Kenny Brooks’ first team at Kentucky, and she’ll be able to continue her dominance as a ‘Cat, thanks in part to “Coach Grandma”.