CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Scottie Lewis, who will be a senior next fall at Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.), recently trimmed his list of colleges to seven.
Among that group is Harvard, which may not seem to fit for a 6-5 wing who is listed at No. 14 in the Chosen 25 for 2019.
“If you know me well enough, you know I’m a very liberal person, very deep into politics because of the culture I grew up in and (because) of my grandmother and how smart she is,” Lewis said. “She has her doctorate and she’s kind of the person who raised me. I take academics very seriously. With all that’s going on in the world right now, for me to be able to use my voice, by going to a school like Harvard, my voice would mean that much more.”
The other schools on Lewis’ final list are Kentucky, Duke, Villanova, Stanford, Florida and St. John’s. He said he doesn’t necessarily need to stay close to home.
“I could see myself on the West Coast; I can see myself on the East Coast; I can see myself down South,” he said. “It kind of depends where the right feel is.”
Lewis said two things that stand out about Kentucky are coach John Calipari’s honesty and the Wildcats’ tradition of athletic guards.
“I really connect with Coach Cal,” he said. “He tells me all my flaws. He never tries to hype me up like some other coaches. If I was to go to a program like that, I would only get better. Kentucky always produces athletic guards, with players like Malik Monk and John Wall and they turn those players into fundamental point guards with super athleticism.”
Lewis was a second-team New Jersey ALL-USA selection this past season, teaming with first-team guard Bryan Antoine, who is the No. 12 player in the 2019 Chosen 25. Lewis said he wants to show he can create his own shot as well as create for others.
In his first game Friday, he did just that, making seven of 13 shots, including three three-pointers for 18 points.
“I’ve been working on my shot,” he said. “I’ve always played around guys who are great scorers. … Sometimes I don’t get to show my scoring capabilities, but in showcases like this, I do. When I first came to the camp, I asked around for pointers and I asked multiple guys, guys like John Lucas, Mike Rice, Coach Purvis (Short) and Coach Tim (McCormick) and coach Frank (Brickowski). Guys that know me well. They say I’m a little too unselfish. I like to be a stat-filler and I like to pass the ball, but I need to show I can score the ball more.”
Lewis and Antoine have talked about possibly attending the same college and each has Duke, Kentucky and Villanova in the final group.
Lewis was offered by Duke last year when he was playing in a tournament in Las Vegas.
“Coach K called me and he was telling me a story of how he was at the beach with his daughter and grandkids or something like that,” he said. “He was serious about not offering me and Bryan at the same time. Duke is a special kind of offer and he wanted to make it seem like that. Bryan was there when they offered me and I was there when they offered him and we were excited and hyped for each other.”
Lewis said the coach at Duke who talks with him the most is Jon Scheyer.
“He’s a young guy,” Lewis said. “Since he played there and played for Coach K, he gives me pointers of how I would fit into the program and things that Coach K would teach me.”
