Guy Lewis

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Guy Lewis
File:Guy Lewis, circa 1972.png
Lewis, c. 1972
Sport(s) Basketball
Biographical details
Born (1922-03-19)March 19, 1922
Arp, Texas
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Kyle, Texas
Playing career
1945–1947 Houston
Position(s) Center / forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1953–1955 Houston (assistant)
1956–1986 Houston
Head coaching record
Overall 592–279
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 SWC regular season (1983–1984)
4 SWC Tournament (1978, 1981, 1983–1984)
Awards
2x AP Coach of the Year (1968, 1983)
Henry Iba Award (1968)
NABC Coach of the Year (1968)
UPI Coach of the Year (1968)
Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2013 (profile)
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2007

Guy Vernon Lewis II (March 19, 1922 – November 26, 2015) was an American basketball player and coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Houston from 1956 to 1986. Lewis led his Houston Cougars to five appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, in 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, and 1984. His 1980s teams, nicknamed Phi Slama Jama for their slam dunks, were runner-ups for the national championship in back-to-back seasons in 1983 and 1984. He was inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.

Coaching career

After serving in World War II, Lewis played basketball for the University of Houston until his graduation in 1947. He became an assistant coach there in 1953, and head coach in 1956. As a coach, he was known for championing the once-outlawed dunk, which he characterized as a "high percentage shot", and for clutching a brightly colored red-and-white polka dot towel on the bench during games. Lewis was a major force in the racial integration of college athletics in the South during the 1960s, being one of the first major college coaches in the region to actively recruit African-American athletes. In 1964, his recruitment of the program's first African-American players, Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney, ushered in an era of tremendous success in Cougar basketball.[1] The dominant play of Hayes led the Cougars to two Final Fours and sent shock waves through Southern colleges that realized that they would have to begin recruiting black players if they wanted to compete with integrated teams.

Lewis led the Houston Cougars program to 27 straight winning seasons, 14 seasons with 20 or more wins, and 14 trips to the NCAA Tournament. His Houston teams advanced to the Final Four on five occasions (1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984) and twice advanced to the NCAA Championship Game (1983, 1984). Among the outstanding players who Lewis coached are Elvin Hayes, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Otis Birdsong, Dwight Jones, Don Chaney Louis Dunbar, and Ken Spain.

Lewis's Houston teams twice played a role in events that helped to popularize college basketball as a spectator sport. In January 1968, his underdog, Elvin Hayes-led Cougars upset John Wooden's undefeated and top-ranked UCLA Bruins 71–69 in front of 52,693 fans at the Houston Astrodome. This was the first nationally televised regular season college basketball game and subsequently became known as the "Game of the Century." It marked a watershed in the emerging popularity of college basketball. In the early 1980s, Lewis's Phi Slama Jama teams at UH gained notoriety for their fast-breaking, "above the rim" style of play as well as their overall success. At the height of Phi Slama Jama's notoriety, they suffered a dramatic, last-second loss to underdog North Carolina State in the 1983 NCAA Final that became an iconic moment in the history of the sport. Lewis's insistence that his teams play an acrobatic, up-tempo brand of basketball that emphasized dunking brought this style of play to the fore and helped popularize it amongst younger players.

The Cougars also lost in the 1984 NCAA Final to the Georgetown Hoyas led by Patrick Ewing. Lewis retired from coaching in 1986 at number 20 in all-time NCAA Division I victories, his 592–279 record giving him a .680 career winning percentage. In 1995, the University of Houston modified the official name of the on-campus basketball arena to "Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion" in honor of Lewis, making him a university namesake.[2]

Later life and honors

Lewis was hospitalized for a stroke on February 27, 2002.[3] He later recovered, but experienced some lasting effects from the episode.[4] From 1959 until his death, Lewis resided in the University Oaks subdivision adjacent to the University of Houston.[5] Lewis was the honoree at the 2012 Houston Aphasia Recovery Center luncheon benefit.[6]

Lewis died on the morning of November 26, 2015 at a retirement facility in Kyle, Texas, at the age of 93.[7]

Head coaching record

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Houston Cougars (Missouri Valley Conference) (1956–1960)
1956–57 Houston 10–16 5–9 T–5th
1957–58 Houston 9–16 4–10 T–6th
1958–59 Houston 12–14 6–8 5th
1959–60 Houston 13–12 6–8 T–4th
Houston Cougars (NCAA University Division / Division I independent) (1960–1975)
1960–61 Houston 17–11 NCAA Sweet 16
1961–62 Houston 21–6 NIT Quarterfinal
1962–63 Houston 15–11
1963–64 Houston 16–10
1964–65 Houston 19–10 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1965–66 Houston 23–6 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1966–67 Houston 27–4 NCAA Third Place
1967–68 Houston 31–2 NCAA Fourth Place
1968–69 Houston 16–10
1969–70 Houston 25–5 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1970–71 Houston 22–7 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1971–72 Houston 20–7 NCAA First Round
1972–73 Houston 23–4 NCAA First Round
1973–74 Houston 17–9
1974–75 Houston 16–10
Houston Cougars (Southwest Conference) (1975–1986)
1975–76 Houston 17–11 7–9 6th
1976–77 Houston 29–8 13–3 2nd NIT Runner-up
1977–78 Houston 25–8 11–5 3rd NCAA First Round
1978–79 Houston 16–15 6–10 T–5th
1979–80 Houston 14–14 8–8 T–4th
1980–81 Houston 21–9 10–6 T–2nd NCAA First Round
1981–82 Houston 25–8 11–5 2nd NCAA Final Four
1982–83 Houston 31–3 16–0 1st NCAA Runner-up
1983–84 Houston 32–5 15–1 1st NCAA Runner-up
1984–85 Houston 16–14 8–8 T–5th NIT First Round
1985–86 Houston 14–14 8–8 6th
Houston: 592–279 134–98
Total: 592–279

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ COLLEGES: MEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP. New York Times. February 27, 2002. GUY LEWIS HOSPITALIZED: Guy Lewis, the former University of Houston coach who took his team to 14 N.C.A.A. tournaments and 5 trips to the Final Four, was hospitalized yesterday for treatment of an apparent stroke. Lewis, who will turn 80 next month, was taken to Houston's Methodist Hospital about 2 a.m. The university said in a statement that Lewis was under observation but was alert and speaking and would be undergoing tests to determine the severity of what doctors believed was a stroke.
  4. ↑ JOHN MARSHALL: Abdul-Jabbar Honored by College Hall Associated Press. November 18, 2007. Notes: (Guy) Lewis, who was too ill to attend the ceremonies, led Houston to five Final Four appearances and 27 consecutive winning seasons, including the 1983 "Phi Slamma Jamma" team that came within seconds of a national title. (Lewis had suffered a stroke and gave a videotaped acceptance speech.)[dead link]
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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