New 2022 offer: PG Paul Lewis

[AuricGoldfinger]

He was formerly a Maryland commit who de-committed last summer. He's 6-1, 170 lbs out of Arlington, VA and made an official visit yesterday to VU.

[Vandamnit]

He was also offered by Georgetown, Villanova, Miami, and Louisville before originally committing to Maryland. He looks to have some great skills. He was the #19 rated point guard in the class of 2022!

[dcdore]

Can't find him on 247. Any info?

[UltimateVUFan]

Interesting. Has dropped in the rankings a bit if he was #19 at one point. Far be it from me to question Stack and staff, but would’ve thought they’d be seeking an upperclassman transfer for immediate impact with next year’s roster.
Leaves me wondering if they know something about Pippen and/or they don’t feel comfortable with other transfer portal players. Possibly they’re looking long term with a stacked freshman class, especially knowing the way the transfer market is working currently and that losing players from a class seems inevitable.

https://247sports.com/player/paul-lewis-46098483/


Edit: Also, 247 page shows interest for Villanova. Not an offer. Same for Miami and nothing I see re: Louisville. Best offer was definitely Maryland.
Again, not trying to be a Debbie Downer, and the staff is far more knowledgeable about basketball than I could ever hope to be. Seems like this is a stretch offer that is unlikely to have a large impact on next year’s roster, which is a bit unfortunate given the strength/depth in the front court. Adding some experienced back court talent seems like it has the potential to make next year’s team quite formidable.

[AuricGoldfinger]

Can't find him on 247. Any info?

https://247sports.com/player/paul-lewis-46098483/

[docdore]

is it really possible that georgetown has 7 point guards on their roster?

[dcdore]

Can't find him on 247. Any info?

https://247sports.com/player/paul-lewis-46098483/

Thanks

[dore74]

interesting, raises a number of interesting maybe's...could be a sign that our current top player will be back next year...could be a sign that someone else is leaving...could be a sign that we haven't been successful finding what the coaches are looking for in the portal...

[buffy]

After watching Baylor dismantle every team in existence last year in the tournament, I'm heavily attracted to a 6 deep situation at guard with pressure defense. Just totally disrupt other teams. A couple of those guys need to be high end like Scottie or Saben, but the other guys need to just gobble other people up with quickness and aggressiveness. I'm more open minded about bigs, but length or athleticism to affect shots is paramount. The distinctions of a small forward are becoming trivial. 3 and D all the way. I felt like we started to own the defense identity this year when we had some horses that could do it. Guards need to be brutal. I see nothing about this guy above from his highlights that tells me anything important. I feel like CJS likes to recruit wings (generalization). He needs to get it in his head that the college game is ruled by guard play. If you get put in a position where you need to fill a spot, you better make sure its a guard with wheels. You can teach shooting, but you can't teach fast.

[Nashmann]

So back to 3 stars then....hmmmm

[Gambit]

https://247sports.com/player/paul-lewis-46098483/

Lewis played for Bishop O’Connell (which is about 3 miles from my house). Same athletic conference (Washington Catholic School Athletic Conference, or WCAC) as Gonzaga (Stute), Paul VI (both Roach and Keels from this year’s Duke team), and DeMatha (of which former ‘Dore DJ Harvey is an alum). So the level of competition is legit, to say the least. Probably the best high school basketball conference in the country, top to bottom. Their hoops coach is Joe Wootten, son of legendary (and national basketball HoF’er) DeMatha coach Morgan Wootten. So I expect Lewis has good hoops IQ and fundamentals. Incidentally, my son was choosing among o’Connell, Gonzaga and one other high school last year (he chose option C - otherwise I’d be giving you first hand scouting reports on Lewis). Coach Joe was my son’s little league coach one year, and a really nice guy. Knowing what I do of the coach, I expect Lewis is a good young man and a good student. O’Connell is a strong academic school, I’d analogize it to Brentwood Academy for the native Nashvillians.

[Jason94]

After watching Baylor dismantle every team in existence last year in the tournament, I'm heavily attracted to a 6 deep situation at guard with pressure defense. Just totally disrupt other teams. A couple of those guys need to be high end like Scottie or Saben, but the other guys need to just gobble other people up with quickness and aggressiveness. I'm more open minded about bigs, but length or athleticism to affect shots is paramount. The distinctions of a small forward are becoming trivial. 3 and D all the way. I felt like we started to own the defense identity this year when we had some horses that could do it. Guards need to be brutal. I see nothing about this guy above from his highlights that tells me anything important. I feel like CJS likes to recruit wings (generalization). He needs to get it in his head that the college game is ruled by guard play. If you get put in a position where you need to fill a spot, you better make sure its a guard with wheels. You can teach shooting, but you can't teach fast.

With the Addition of Manjon I don't know that Lewis would be considered a priority, since we have two points on the roster and are in need of some immediate scoring/defense, and it is unlikely that we get a lot of either from a 6'-2", 170 lb freshman.

I agree that having a bevy of good guards is critical - which is why I think we could use another one knowing that Pippen is gone - and that even having Thomas as primary backup can be somewhat of an issue. We were not deep enough at guard this year and we are losing our two best guards (by far) going into next season. Getting Manjon is a start and Shelby has a ton of potential, but I would definitely like to be a little deeper here.

[AuricGoldfinger]

He just committed to Vandy:

[docdore]

so all scholarships are taken unless someone else departs?

[Nashmann]

so all scholarships are taken unless someone else departs?

Yep....we are full up.

[Nashmann]

With signing Manjon I thought we would really have the opportunity(since Pippen left) to find someone who was really a big-time scorer. I am sure Lewis is a great kid, but in the days of the portal & NIL the landscape has changed. Lewis will not help I don't think in getting us to the next level. Don't think CJS hit this one out of the park. Hope I'm wrong and he breaks all kinds of records here. Now we have 5 PG's

[MrMemorial]

Crafty on offense, good passer... great defender ala Chatman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAj38Db37mY

Actually listed as an inch taller than Chatman. Good athlete.

[Gambit]

With signing Manjon I thought we would really have the opportunity(since Pippen left) to find someone who was really a big-time scorer. I am sure Lewis is a great kid, but in the days of the portal & NIL the landscape has changed. Lewis will not help I don't think in getting us to the next level. Don't think CJS hit this one out of the park. Hope I'm wrong and he breaks all kinds of records here. Now we have 5 PG's

who are you counting in the 5 PGs? For guards, I have returning

1. Trey Thomas (spot up shooter in a PG body). Showed very little ability to handle pressure or run an offense this season.
2. Lawrence (6-4 and long). Great athleticism, but inconsistent shot and also did not demonstrate ability to handle the ball.
3. Dorsey. Very little PT this season, but he’s 6-6, so not likely vying for PG minutes.
4. Wright. Could play some point forward, but I doubt we’ll need that now.
The above are all really wing players. Stute we know can shoot. Dia I expect is a it more of a slasher, but haven’t seen him play.

And the new additions:
1. Manjon. Good experience against mid-majors, but yet to be tested against high majors. 3PT% is a little worrisome, but I can remain optimistic that he was taking bad shots out of necessity. Hopefully as a more secondary option he can hit a higher %.
2. Noah Shelby (6-2, 175). FR
3. Paul Lewis (6-1, 170). FR
Curious to see how the rotation among these 3 shakes out. Manjon obviously has college experience. As I said above, Lewis comes from a powerhouse conference where they play nationally-ranked level competition every week. Shelby may be more highly ranked but he comes from a smaller school, so it might take a little longer for him to catch up to the speed and skill level of high major hoops.

The good news seems to be that we won’t need all of Dia, Dort and Smith to contribute a ton right away with QMB and Robbins back. We’ll probably need 1 of them to, but not all three.

[Nashmann]

The 5 PGs are Thomas, Lawrence, Shelby, Manjon & Lewis. I didn't say how good any of them are. If Lawrence & Thomas aren't good enough and won't get much PT, why would they stay? They have been recruited over. Lewis may have played in a tough conference but he is still rated a 3-star. I would say Manjon gets the starting position....the others scramble for PT. I don't see Lewis getting much. No way Dorsey plays either guard position. Wright needed on the wing. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out I agree. Glad we have our bigs back to help out and the other 4 new folks. Hope they all jell quiickly and we can pick up the scoring left behind by Pippen.

[Ndorefin]

Why would they stay? Believe it or not, some may see the value of a Vanderbilt degree and realize basketball will not be in their future after college. I’m sure every player believes he is a pro prospect coming out of high school, but reality sets in, (especially against good competition), and why go elsewhere, (if you’re happy), where the end result may be the same or worse?