Norfolk State basketball coach Robert Jones announced today that the program has signed Fresno State transfer Mustafa Lawrence to join the program for the upcoming year.
A 6-foot-1, 180-pound guard, Lawrence will have one season of eligibility remaining. The New Jersey native will arrive at NSU after spending the 2019-20 campaign with the Bulldogs.
“Today is a good day for Spartan Basketball. With the signing of Mustafa Lawrence, we now have some important experience in the backcourt,” said Jones. “He has played at high Division I levels and brings some toughness to a great returning bunch.
“He can score the ball, and after losing Jermaine Bishop, we wanted to add someone who could step in immediately and provide backcourt depth. He can also handle the ball, shoot the 3 and has great driving ability. We look forward to Mustafa having an immediate impact for us.”
As a junior last year, Lawrence played in 18 games for Fresno State and averaged 6.4 points, 2.9 assists and 1.4 rebounds per game. He shot 31 percent from deep with 19 3-pointers and ranked third on the team in assists. He made 37 percent overall from the field while making eight starts.
Hailing from Newark, New Jersey, Lawrence played his freshman year at Missouri State in 2017-18. He averaged 4.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per game and hit 24-of-62 (39 percent) from deep. He started the last nine games of the year for the Bears, who finished 18-15 overall.
He then spent his sophomore year in 2018-19 at Tallahassee Community College. Lawrence tallied 13.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He was a first-team All-Panhandle Conference honoree in leading the Eagles to a 22-7 record. He also earned All-Academic honors from both the Panhandle Conference and the Florida College System Activities Association before heading to Fresno State.
Lawrence joins four-star recruit and small forward Nate Tabor in forming NSU’s 2020 recruiting class. The Spartans lost a pair of All-MEAC seniors last year in first-team honoree Bishop (15.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, school-record 98 3-pointers) and third-teamer Steven Whitley (10.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists).
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