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)
- 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)
