Justin Lewis talks Team USA, new offers/interests, and the upcoming sesaon
2020 forward Justin Lewis has cemented himself as a national name in the college recruiting world. The 6’8 forward, who ranks No. 2 overall in our 2020 player rankings, put together a successful spring/summer despite suffering an ankle injury that sidelined him for the month of June and some of July. When he wasn’t making play for Team Melo, Lewis was in the gym preparing for his next training camp with Team USA.
I caught up with Lewis last night to speak about his overall experience with Team USA, new schools making their presence felt within his recruitment and the upcoming season as he tries to find his role with the defending 3A state champion Baltimore Polytechnic Engineers.
PH: So this was your third time traveling to go through training camp sessions with Team USA. Explain how this time was different then the two before.
JL: It’s always a great experience, but this time it was even better because of the competition. I finally got to play against Zion Williamson. Man, he’s a beast. You’re talking about 6’5 and 270 pounds and can jump out of the gym. Then I got to play against guys in my class like Isaiah Todd, Zion Harmon, Jeremy Roach and players like that.
PH: Who has really had an impact on you throughout your experience with Team USA? Has anyone in particular helped you or pushed you in a way that has helped you improve as a player?
JL: I’d have to say Coach Mike Jones from DeMatha. He’s always on me no matter what drills we are going through, he’s always pushing me to go hard and give it my all. It has really helped me so far.
PH: There’s been a few schools that have entered into your sweepstakes. Ole Miss just offered Wednesday and now North Carolina has expressed interest. How was it getting in contact with a blue-blood school like that?
JL: I get mail from them then and there, but to know they are interested is definitely great. I like North Carolina, man. It’s a good school and the program’s history speaks for itself.
PH: Anyone else that you’re starting to hear from that is new to the picture?
JL: UConn. The coach came here and showed some love. With UConn being close to home, it’s definitely cool to get a look from them.
PH: This season, you’re transferring into a situation where you need to fill the void left behind by Dre Perry (Temple). What have the coaches and your teammates done so far to help you prepare to take on such a role and do so successfully?
JL: Since I transferred up to now, we’ve already faced hardship. We even took a couple of losses in summer league games to the point where we were close to getting blown out [to Mt. Carmel]. That helped us come together though, and the coaches continue to get on me in every drill. Everyone wants me to fill Dre’s role and they’re going to be sure I don’t fail.
PH: Is there anything new that you’ve been doing to expand your game that you weren’t doing before you came to Poly?
JL: They’re making me play like a guard. A lot of the things we do force every player to do things that guards do. I’m also doing a lot of agility a specific types of workouts with the trainer to help me become more than just a stretch forward.
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