2022 guard Jamarques Lawrence calls NU visit ‘an amazing experience’

After picking up a Nebraska offer toward the end of the summer, the Huskers were immediately an intriguing option for 2022 guard Jamarques Lawrence because of his connection with NU freshman and former Plainfield (N.J.) Roselle Catholic teammate C.J. Wilcher.

When he found out he could take an official visit to Lincoln on the same weekend as his current high school teammate and fellow Nebraska recruit, 2023 five-star Simeon Wilcher; the trip was an immediate no-brainer.

Lawrence and Wilcher made their way to campus on Oct. 1-3, where they took in the Huskers’ “Opening Night” preseason event and then the home football win over Northwestern.

With familiar faces by his side, Lawrence said the visit was one that he wouldn’t soon forget.

“It was an amazing experience,” Lawrence said. “That’s definitely the best visit, especially with (Simeon). We can’t stop talking about it and how unique it was. It was great…

“I’d say the biggest thing was just the fans out there. I really felt the love out there.”

The official visit was so good that the 6-foot-4 senior cut down his list of schools to Nebraska and Wake Forest just three days later.

Lawrence took an official to Wake Forest the weekend before his trip to Lincoln on Sept. 24-26. He said the Huskers and Demon Deacons had been recruiting him the hardest over the past few months, and the relationships he’d built with both coaching staffs made it easy for him to narrow down his final two.

“With Nebraska and Wake Forest, I’ve built great relationships with them, and they were the two schools that recruited me the hardest this summer,” Lawrence said.

Head coach Fred Hoiberg and lead recruiter Matt Abdelmassih have had ample opportunities to see Lawrence play, as they were most recently out to watch him and Simeon Wilcher workout on Sept. 12.

Averaging around 13 points and two assists while shooting roughly 40 percent from 3-point range in 15 games at Roselle last season, Lawrence said his skill set checked many boxes of what NU wanted.

“People know me as a high-level shooter, and that’s a big part of being in that system,” Lawrence said. ‘The way I play defense and facilitate the ball, (Hoiberg) said I’d sit great into their system.”

He and the younger Wilcher may have traveled to Nebraska together for their official visits, but Lawrence said there was no plan for a package deal with them at the college level.

“Nah, me and Sim, we haven’t talked about doing that,” Lawrence said.