By Nick Eatman

Just before the North Division Defensive Player of the Year award was announced last Tuesday at the LSC Tournament banquet, Southwestern Oklahoma standout Abdullah Lawal went for the trophy just like he does for the ball.

In fact, he got a head start.

Even before the announcement was made that Lawal had won the award for the second straight year, the senior guard from Plano, Texas was already halfway from his seat to the podium.

"I wasn't trying to be cocky or anything," said an apologetic Lawal, who leads all of Division II with 4.4 steals per game. "But I just feel like that's my award. That's my MVP. There was no respect to anyone. But I just feel like I deserved it. That's what I do. I go play defense. I pride myself on that."

For the last two years, it has definitely showed. The guy his teammates call "Bull," Lawal has made himself the premier defensive player in the conference. He is the LSC's all-time leader in career steals with 259 and set the single-season mark this year with 118. 

SWOSU head coach Todd Thurman said he hasn't seen a player like Lawal in all of his coaching career.

"You just can't say enough about Bull," Thurman said. "I saw him play at a shootout and saw the ball never make it past half court. I kept looking around and wondering if anyone was seeing this and was hoping no one else was. He's just a special player that comes around once in a lifetime. I've never seen anyone like him."

It's rather easy to see where Lawal's intensity and aggressiveness comes from. His older Muhammad Lawal, was an All-American wrestler for both Oklahoma State and Central Oklahoma. He is currently a well-recognized Mixed Martial Arts wrestler who fights all over the world, including an upcoming match in Japan.

"When I was younger, I would come home from school and he'd put moves on me all the time," Lawal said of his older brother, who also played basketball with Abdullah as well. "I couldn't score back then. So I just had to pick up defense. I've also been a defensive guy."

This year, Lawal earned second-team All-LSC North honors, mainly for his defensive efforts. But even though he ranks sixth on his own team in scoring, averaging just 6.2 points per game, Lawal can still score when needed.

In leading the Bulldogs to a quarterfinal upset win over Angelo State, Lawal pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds and had his usual four steals, but his team leading by nine in the final four minutes and needing one more bucket, Lawal kept the ball in his hands until the final seconds of the shot clock before driving the lane for game-clinching points.

Lawal also scored a career-high 21 points in a loss earlier this season to nationally-ranked Southwest Baptist.

But if professional basketball is in Lawal's future, either in the NBA Developmental League or possibly overseas, he knows it will because of his defensive nature.

"I'd like to see what happens after this season," the senior said. "But I really don't know. I take care of my son and I'm not sure about playing (overseas). We'll see what my options are. Basketball is very important to me. I'm sure I'll give it a try somewhere."

Wherever he ends up, Lawal's defensive abilities could make him quite a steal for any team.