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‘In my mind, we got AJ five years ago.’ One man’s journey to bring AJ Lawson to USC

Chuck Martin played tour guide, unlocking doors, flicking on lights and providing background at every turn. He took them to the offices and showed off the Final Four trophy. He took them to the weight room. When he opened the practice facility, his visitors thought they were in the arena. When he opened the arena, his visitors heard about those who played in it and whose jerseys hang in the rafters.

“We talked about the history,” Martin said, “and Sindarius and P.J. and Alex English and all the stuff, B.J. McKie.”

It was October 2017 and Martin, a few months on the job as a South Carolina assistant basketball coach, was hosting a most unusual recruiting trip.