Guy Lewis

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:

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”
  • 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)