Kira Lewis Jr. still growing into leadership role with Alabama basketball
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There was a brief pause before Avery Johnson walked into the media room inside of Coleman Coliseum on Monday. If you listened closely, you could hear the murmurs of instruction as the Alabama basketball coach gave a final rundown of pointers to Kira Lewis Jr. before the freshman point guard met the home media for the first time.
Lewis, 17, is the second youngest player in the country. The four-star guard from Meridianville, Ala., elected to forego his final year of high school to join Alabama’s 2018 class. While he didn’t receive quite the hype as NBA Draft lottery pick Collin Sexton a year before, Lewis was billed to be an instant game-changer for the Crimson Tide.
Seventeen games into his freshman season, the 17-year-old has done that and more. Lewis leads Alabama in minutes per game (30.9), scoring (14.2 points per game) and free-throw percentage (84.1) percent. He earned SEC Freshman of the Week in December and is the third-highest scoring freshman in the conference.
Outside of his wiry 6-foot-3, 167-pound frame, it’s easy to forget Lewis’ rookie status. He’s been Alabama’s leading scorer in seven games, including a career-high 24 points against Wichita State. Playing on a team devoid of a natural leader, he’s often become the Crimson Tide’s go-to man in clutch situations.
“We don’t handle him with kid gloves,” Johnson said. “But at the same time, you have to understand each one of your players and what buttons to push and how to communicate with them. We have a great relationship with all of our players, and I think spending a lot of time with him behind the scenes, making sure that he’s in the right frame of mind. I think that’s helped.”
As much as Alabama (11-6, 2-3 in the SEC) might need Lewis to be the man, he’s still in the infancy of his college stardom.
“I would say the first season has been great so far, just some bumps along the road," Lewis said. "The guys welcomed me in the first few days, first few weeks that I was here. I feel like it’s going to be better, so I feel like the see’s been great so far.”
As Lewis detailed his season to date, Johnson adjusted the freshman’s microphone, much the way a father would steady his son’s tie. When asked about the point guard's progression, the head coach credited Lewis’ success to a good family upbringing. At times this season, Johnson himself has taken on a patriarchal role.
“I just try to spend a lot of quiet moments with him behind the scenes, just watching film, talking to him, making sure he’s in the right frame of mind,” Johnson said. “Give him an opportunity to ask some questions, because sometimes when we’re in our video sessions you’ll ask a guy, ‘You understand what we’re doing?’ And they all say yes. Sometimes maybe they don’t.”
Lewis said the decision to enter college early was tough on him and admitted he struggled to adjust to the physicality of the college game early on. However, those uncertainties were quickly subdued by the trust and support he received from everyone in Alabama’s organization.
“When you’ve got teammates like I do and coaches like I do in practice, they just give me high praise every day, and they stick with me through the ups and downs,” he said. “It’s just easy to go out there and play.”
Lewis and Alabama will take the court again Tuesday as they host No. 20 Ole Miss at 8 p.m. CT inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
