Tyler Lewis — The future of Butler basketball

 

Tyler Lewis is the best pure point guard I have ever seen.

Bold? Absolutely. Unfounded? Maybe not.

In 2012, Tyler Lewis was considered one of the best high school basketball players in the country. He was named the Gatorade Player of the State in 2012. He led his high school team, the prestigious, Oak Hill Academy to a 44-0 season and a high school national championship. He was one of the most sought after recruits in the country before he decided to commit to North Carolina State. However, he only lasted two seasons at NC State before he determined that he needed to transfer.

Tyler loved NC State, but made a personal decision to transfer, says Rick Lewis, Tyler’s father. Sidney Lowe, the coach who recruited Tyler was fired just before Tyler arrived on campus. Despite having a very limited relationship with the new coaching staff, Tyler decided to honor his commitment and attend NC State. After two seasons with the Wolfpack, Tyler decided it was in his best interest for a new start. It wasn’t an easy decision. North Carolina was his home state and he loved the experiences he had at NC State, but he knew he needed a change.

During his time at NC State, Tyler never gained the trust and freedom of his coach and never produced the stats that were expected for a McDonald’s All-American. He needed a new beginning and made the decision to transfer.

After determining he would transfer, Lewis only visited one school; Butler. The one visit was all he needed to make his decision.

What was NC State’s loss was Butler’s gain. Never before had the Bulldogs had a McDonalds All-American on their roster, until Tyler Lewis decided to pull the trigger and come to Butler.

Lewis averaged 4.4 points per game and 3.8 assists per game last season for NC State. Not exactly impressive stats for a former top recruit.

I have been lucky enough to be able to see Lewis play in Butler’s open gym practices. An open gym is essentially just a scrimmage game between the Bulldogs roster. During these open gym sessions, Lewis is one of, if not the most, dominant player on the court. When the ball is in his hands he has complete control over every single other player. No matter where a teammate is on the court, Lewis finds them. Throughout several open gym’s I have seen, Lewis has made countless passes that would make the Sportscenter top 10 plays. No look passes and behind the back passes are frequent occurrences for him. Now it’s one thing to make the easy pass to a teammate for the score. Lewis, however, makes the passes that nobody else would make. He makes the passes that nobody else even sees. His vision on the court is at an NBA level.

In terms of handling the ball, he is elite. He handles the ball so well that it is a rarity when he turns the ball over. There was a reason he set an ACC record for assist to turnover ratio in his final year at NC State. He does not make many mistakes. Given his immense talent with the ball in his hands, it isn’t a surprise that he can drive into the lane with ease. He frequently crosses over some of Butler’s top defenders as he glides into the paint for a layup. Never before have the Bulldogs had a player who could get into the lane with such ease.

Looking at his stats from his time at NC State, you would think that Lewis was not a very good shooter.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

He isn’t just an average shooter, he is a great one. Based off the system that was run at his former school, Tyler was not given the opportunity to shoot the ball freely.

During games in open gym, he consistently hits around 36-40 percent of his threes. While Lewis is a very capable shooter, he clearly loves to distribute the ball more than he loves to score. He will often pass up a makeable shot and dish the ball to a teammate cutting to the basket.

Unfortunately for Lewis and Butler, he will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules. When he is eligible to play in the 2015-2016 season, Butler will be one of the top teams in the Big East. With the talent that will surround him, Lewis will once again be the elite point guard he once was in high school.

For now, Butler fans will have to wait for Lewis, but rest assured, he is worth the hype.

 

-Ari Kasle

 

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13 thoughts on “Tyler Lewis — The future of Butler basketball

  1. Why are we treating Ari like he’s a scout? I’m sure he spends a lot of time around the team but “he isn’t just an average shooter, he’s a great one” — I wouldn’t call 36-40% great. I’m sure Tyler will help the team but there’s so much speculation in this article that it’s hard to take seriously.

    • Totally understand. I am NOT a scout, nor am I a college basketball expert. I just wrote an article based off what I have see in open gym. Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I’m just a fan. Never meant to imply that I was any sort of authority on Butler.

      • Agree with Matt. Way too much outlook is based off of this “ari”. No affiliation with the staff or team. Hear say doesn’t mean a damn thing is this world.

    • Who is treating Ari like a scout? He isn’t one and doesn’t pretend to be. He’s simply giving his observations from open gym. It’s ok to be skeptical of his opinion, but can’t we just appreciate a unique report that comes from one of the few people who have gotten to watch open gyms and report his thoughts?

      • Watching open gyms gives about as much useful information as the presason in the NFL. I wouldn’t take much insight out of these games at all.

  2. As an NC State alumni, I will miss the guy. He is fun to watch. Not sure if he is the best ever, but Tyler is a great competitor and will do very well at Butler.

  3. What are these “top 10 plays on Sportscenter” you speak of? Big East games are played on Fox Sports 1. So I bet several of these plays could have been “The 1.” The Big East needs to always align with its partners, no matter what.

  4. Tyler is a tremendous competitor that never found his jumpshot while at NC State. He is a very good passer in the transition game but he struggles some when in the half court and playing against an athletic defense. He will be successful running the team at Butler and he is a hard working high character player. The Bulldogs will need to play help defense to cover his physical limitiations. I think he saw the writing on the wall with playing time at NC State so I wish him all the luck going forward. I was thrilled when he signed with us and I was sad when he decided to go. Having said that I’m stoked about our backcourt at State going forward myself.

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