Memphis to hire father of two elite recruits, per report

Memphis high school coach Keelon Lawson is set to join the University of Memphis basketball staff in the coming weeks, according to ESPN.com.

That in itself wouldn't be a national story, but what Lawson could bring with him makes it much more intriguing — and a little suspicious, depending on who you ask. Lawson is the father of four potentially major recruits. His oldest son, K.J. Lawson, is ranked 37th nationally by ESPN and is already committed to Memphis. Dedric Lawson, who is ranked seventh in the class of 2016, might commit now.

"That would probably seal the deal for me, to commit to Memphis," Dedric told CBSSports.com last week at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Las Vegas.

Lawson's two younger sons are still a long ways from college basketball, but impressive in their own rights. Given the family's basketball talent, Memphis coach Josh Pastner could get some criticism from people who believe Lawson was hired only to get the commitments of his sons, especially after Dedric's interview about committing to Memphis.

Schools cannot hire coaches to get their sons to commit, but there may be no way to prove that was the intent. Lawson does have an impressive coaching record, according to the article, and he has been approached by other schools:

Keelon Lawson is the head coach at Hamilton High in Memphis and is the last coach to lead a city school to a state title while going unbeaten in the largest classification. Lawson, who played at UAB and LeMoyne-Owen in college, also spoke to at least two other schools -- including Vanderbilt -- about potentially joining their coaching staff, sources said.