Guy Lewis (1922-2015)

Teams coached: Houston Cougars
Houston record: 592-279 (.680)
Overall record: 592-279 (.680)

Career Accomplishments:

• NCAA National Championships:  0  (Runner-up in 1983, 1984)
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  14  (1961, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
• NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  9  (1961, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1982, 1983, 1984)
• NCAA Tournament Final Four:  5  (1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, 1984)
• NIT Championships:  0  (Runner-up in 1977)
• NIT Appearances:  3  (1962, 1977, 1985)
• Southwest Regular Season Champion:  2  (1983, 1984)
• Southwest Tournament Champion:  4  (1978, 1981, 1983, 1984)

Awards:

• AP Coach of the Year:  2  (1968, 1983)
• NABC Coach of the Year:  1  (1968)
• Sporting News Coach of the Year:  1  (1968)
• Henry Iba Award:  1  (1968)
• UPI Coach of the Year:  1  (1968)
• Southwest Coach of the Year:  2  (1983, 1984)
• NABC Golden Anniversary Award (1998)
• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2013)
• National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2006)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1956-1986	Houston
1953-1956	Houston (asst)

Guy Lewis Facts

• Guy Vernon Lewis II
• Born March 19, 1922
• Died November 26, 2015
• Hometown: Arp, Texas
• Alma Mater: University of Houston (BA, 1947)
• Played basketball and football at Arp HS (TX) before enrolling in the United States Army during World War II
• Attended Rice on a GI Bill before transferring back home to UH, where he played basketball for Alden Pasche in the new program’s first two years
• Hired as one of Pasche‘s assistant coaches in 1953 and took over as the Cougars’ head coach in 1956
  • Won 592 games over the next 30 seasons, taking the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament 14 times and reaching the Final Four on five occasions
  • Helped introduce racial integration in the South by recruiting African-Americans like Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney, who would help lead the Cougars to their first two Final Four appearances
    • The Cougars beat UCLA at the Astrodome on January 20, 1968, the first nationally televised regular season college basketball game; it was later coined the Game of the Century
  • In the 1980’s, Houston literally jumped back into the national spotlight with a fast-paced, above-the-rim style dubbed as “Phi Slama Jama”
    • The Cougars were lead by Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, going to three-straight Final Fours
    • Lost the 1983 NCAA final to NC State on a last-second dunk, then lost the 1984 NCAA final to Georgetown
• Lewis retired in 1986 and in 1995, UH honored him by changing the name of Cougars’ home arena to Guy V. Lewis Court at Hofheinz Pavilion
• Even in retirement, Lewis lived just off of the UH campus; Lewis passed away on November 26, 2015 at the age of 93

Guy Lewis Coaching Tree

• Don Chaney (New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers)
• Clyde Drexler (Houston)
• Dave Rose (BYU, Dixie College)