A.J. Lawson had one heck of a debut for Frank Martin’s program.

The South Carolina guard was recently named to the league’s All-SEC Freshman team leading up to the 2019 SEC Tournament after averaging close to 14 points, three assists and nearly four and a half rebounds per contest after appearing in 28 games. Unfortunately, Lawson has not seen action since the Alabama game back on Feb. 26, when he injured his ankle.

Thankfully for the Gamecocks, the team will be getting as much additional rest as possible for Lawson looking ahead to the league tournament after South Carolina earned the No. 4 seed during the regular season. That all-important position gave Martin’s team a double bye, meaning they don’t have to suit up until Friday against the winner of the Auburn and Missouri/Georgia game.

According to Martin, Lawson continues to make strides in his attempt to return to the court for the Gamecocks.

“We will make a decision on him Thursday at our practice over there. We played Saturday, is that when it was? We had a 30-minute morning shootaround and he participated for 30 minutes,” Martin said on Tuesday. “He participated — today was not live competition against each other — but he did the running. Tomorrow, he’s going to participate in more stuff and Thursday the plan is to turn him loose and see what happens there.”

South Carolina’s outstanding freshman also spoke to the media on Tuesday and offered up his thoughts on his health heading into the league tournament.

“I feel like I’ve been healing very quickly,” Lawson noted. “I’ve been getting better day by day and just thankful, trying to get on the court as much as I can to do more things. As the day goes on, just see how it goes.”

Getting one of the league’s best players would be huge for the Gamecocks and considering they earned the double bye and would face an LSU team down its coach in a potential semifinal matchup, South Carolina should be considered a sneaky contender for the league crown.