Darian Lawson

Bartlett GBB Head Coach 🏆 FBC Alaska Director 🥶 LNBJ 🖤

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

My Goat, My Legend, My Angel, My Hero.

Rest In Heaven. Happy Birthday. Continue To Watch Over Me. I Love You. 🖤

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

My brotha 🙏🏽🖤

[Coach Jaelen Tatum @jae_tatum04]

@youknow_2cool @darianshotit !!

[Coach Jaelen Tatum @jae_tatum04]

@youknow_2cool @darianshotit !!

[Talia Goodman @TaliaGoodmanWBB]

BREAKING: Marquette’s Skylar Forbes has entered the transfer portal, sources told @On3.

The 6-3 junior averaged 15.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg this season.

TRACKER: https://t.co/wYv1Ze6EPC

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

@FBCNars @wegotnextt @FBCNWA @ASGRBasketball @gemsinthegym @fbc_seattle @JrAllStarBB @fbcalaska A really high level game that consisted of some really high level kids that put on a show.

Grateful to have a front row seat to that.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

@FBCNars @wegotnextt @FBCNWA @ASGRBasketball @gemsinthegym @fbc_seattle @JrAllStarBB @fbcalaska The buzzer doesn’t sound at 0:00 until all tenths of a second are gone which is why the bucket counted.

Clock hits 0:00, the scoreboard controller at the table will count down from 0:00.9 - 0:00.0 and that’s when the buzzer goes off.

Ball was out of her hands at the buzzer.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

Huge update to the July recruiting calendar for 2025/26:

📅 July 10–13
📅 July 24–27

Great news for kids everywhere, but REALLY great news for our Alaska kids. More time to get home & rest between the 3rd & 4th live periods

➡️ Higher quality play
➡️ Less burnout

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

Kimora Ieremia-Wilson Class of 31, is going to be really really really special. Wow..

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

Got another one, Kennedi Gaines Class of 28.. You heard it here first. 😅🤷🏽‍♂️

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

If we as coaches keep sharpening our craft, the same way we expect our kids too, our players will be more prepared when it really matters.

AAU humbles me every year. It shows me where I need to grow to better serve my team come high school season.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

7. Physicality

Our kids are so used to being more athletic than their opponents at home that they overlook the little things—like boxing out.

It’s one of the biggest gaps I’ve seen, and as a coach, I’ve got to do a better job of emphasizing it. Which leads to the next point…

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

All that to say—I watch our Alaska kids step up every spring and summer.

They compete. They win. They hoop with the best of them.

Scholarships at every level prove it. Our kids can go.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

6. Mental Stamina.

Traveling for 2 weeks straight wears on kids. Going from Alaska to the East Coast means a 4-hour time change, hotels, pressure, flights and nonstop games. By the end of July, you see the burnout.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

Coaching AAU from Alaska always teaches me something. Here’s what stood out on our 13-day trip playing teams from all over the country in UA Rise 🧵

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

5. Confidence

My assistant coach told my HS group last season.

“You play with more confidence when you have put the reps in.”

Every decision becomes more concise and confident when you are doing things in a game that you have done a million times before in other settings.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

4. Coaching

Coaching in Alaska needs to be better. There are great coaches here, but we all have to be better—including me.

So get out your feelings.

Growth starts with accountability.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

3. Basketball IQ

It takes time to develop, and I’ve noticed our girls make more low-IQ decisions than the teams we play. Not placing blame, just offering a solution: they need more reps making game-paced decisions.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

2. # Of Games

When high school season ends in March, it’s tough to find meaningful games for our girls in Alaska. Even open gyms have low turnout. You can tell the teams we play down south are used to competing year-round and it shows.

[Darian Lawson @darianshotit]

1. Pace

The Lower 48 plays at a much faster pace than we do in Alaska. It’s something I’ve worked hard to build with my high school team, pushing off rebounds and made baskets to get easy buckets before the defense sets. Tempo changes everything.