TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A gleaming gold medal weighs heavily upon Kira Lewis Jr.’s neck. The Alabama point guard admits he waited roughly 24 hours to take off the three-inch medallion after earning it Sunday as Team USA claimed the FIBA U19 World Cup with a 93-79 victory over Mali in the championship game.
“The first time I got it, I probably had it on all night because me and my teammates were celebrating with it,” Lewis said. “But a day after, it got a little heavy.”
As for the smile on Lewis’ face, it isn’t coming off any time soon. The point guard is back in Tuscaloosa after spending the past week and a half in Greece for the tournament. While Lewis averaged just 4.0 points, 1.6 assists and 1.1 rebounds over 10 minutes per game during USA’s undefeated seven-game run, the lack of playing time did little to dampen the experience of performing on the world stage.
“I wasn’t looking at it as I wasn’t getting minutes,” Lewis said. “When I didn’t get minutes or whenever I did, I just did whatever I could to help my teammates out. We all had the same goal to win a gold medal, so you can’t really complain about it because you’ve got 11 other guys that’s the best in the country. So, my approach was just to play when I got minutes, and when I didn’t get minutes, just cheer on my teammates.”
The rising sophomore will certainly get more action at Alabama as he figures to be the driving force for the Crimson Tide during head coach Nate Oats’ first year. Lewis earned SEC All-Freshman honors last season, leading Alabama with 13.5 points, 2.9 assists and 31.6 minutes per game. He also led the team in free-throw percentage (78.3), double-figure scoring games (24) and 20-point games (5).
Lewis, who turned 18 in April, was the youngest active player in Division I last season. The Meridianville, Ala., native was originally scheduled to graduate high school this year but reclassified to join Alabama a year earlier. While he enjoyed his time abroad, Lewis said he’s anxious to rejoin his teammates and take on more of a leadership role for the Crimson Tide this season.
“I’m excited to be more of a leader because I have one year of college basketball under my belt, so I know how the season goes,” Lewis said. “Just helping the new guys and learning from them, as well. And just gelling with the guys that came in that I wasn’t with already. We’ve been talking since I’ve been in Greece, so it’s not going to be hard to gel with them because they’re good guys, they love to play basketball and they just want to win.”
Earlier this offseason, Alabama experienced a brief scare as Lewis placed his name in the NCAA’s transfer portal following the departure of former head coach Avery Johnson. However, it wasn’t long until his new coach won him over.
“The first day I met Coach Oats I was comfortable with him because I knew his plan and the way he played,” Lewis said. “He was successful at Buffalo. And just his staff, they’re relatable. Even when you have bad days you can talk to them and they understand where you are coming from.”
Lewis’ athletic playing style appears to be a perfect fit for Oats’ fast-paced system, but Alabama’s admiration of the 6-foot-3, 167-pound point guard goes beyond his athletic ability. First-year assistant Bryan Hodgson was able to travel with Lewis to both his tryout in Colorado Spring, Colo., as well as the World Cup in Greece and came away impressed with the young star’s composure on and off the court.
“One thing in Greece that I learned about Kira was I don’t think there’s a selfish bone in his body,” Hodgson said. “There were times where I’m sitting there in the stands watching the USA game, and Kira’s on the floor, and he’s playing limited minutes because they’re playing all these guys. And he passed up open-shot opportunities to get other guys the ball.
“We would have conversations at night after the games, and he had one goal and that was winning a gold medal… Those are the guys we want to coach. In Coach Oats’ system, being unselfish is huge, especially at his position.”
Alabama will begin its season on Nov. 5 against the University of Pennsylvania inside Coleman Coliseum.
