By: Zach Reger
With 10 seconds left in the conference tournament, sophomore Guard Curtis Lewis dribbles down the court down by three points against the No. 1 seed Bellarmine.
He hears the crowd roaring and passes the ball to his teammate. He gets the ball back, dribbles behind his back, steps back, and fires up a three.
Swish. The eight-seeded Rockhurst Hawks forced overtime against the top-seeded Bellarmine, a team that is now Division I. While Lewis looks back at that moment as one of his top moments playing basketball, some of his top accomplishments came off the court.
Academics were ingrained in Lewis from the start. His mom always stressed work in the classroom. Once he got to high school, Lewis had to choose between football and basketball because his mom did not want him to lose focus on his schoolwork.
This emphasis in the classroom helped the future 2x Academic All-Great Lakes Valley Conference transition to college life.
“My high school had block scheduling, so it was college-like,” Lewis said.
Lewis spent many nights up at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning finishing up his assignments, then would have a workout at 6 a.m.
One thing that helped Lewis with this was knowing his schedule. He knew exactly when he had to travel.
“I have to get my assignments done now because I will be gone this weekend.”
Prioritization was key to this success. Lewis made sure that he stayed on top of his assignments and emailed his teachers when he knew he would be on the road.
Coming out of high school, where he started every game, Lewis did not have any offers. That was until he played at a Fall Camp at Rockhurst High School. In his second game at this camp, Lewis showed off his athleticism, as the 6’0” guard had a couple of blocks and dunks in that contest. That caught the attention of Rockhurst University’s GA, Matt Hutchinson.
“Right away I was impressed with his poise and leadership,” Hutchinson said about Lewis. “Even at that age, Curtis carries himself in a way that was impressive and elevated those around him,” he continued.
After the camp, Lewis had multiple offers across the Midwest. His mom graduated from Rockhurst University, and out of every school that gave Lewis an offer, Rockhurst was the most academically inclined. Once again, academics was the priority, and Lewis became a Hawk.
His mom was a big influence on Lewis off the court, but he looked to his dad, to improve his game on the court.
Lewis’s dad was his basketball coach up until eighth grade, and while a lot was learned on the court, there was one skill that Curtis used the most in his career.
Lewis mastered the skill of being coachable. From playing AAU basketball to high school to college, Lewis played for many different coaches. His father told him that every coach is going to have a different style and personality. That is why it is important to be coachable. One coach will have a different philosophy from another, so the best way to be successful no matter the program is to be coachable.
This skill of being coachable could also translate to his success in the classroom. Teachers also each have their own styles, so Lewis was prepared and knew what each teacher wanted. His classmates also had nothing but kind words to say about Lewis.
One classmate, Jacob Kamper had this to say about Lewis.
“Downright amazing guy and amazing basketball who broke a few records in Kansas City,”
He ended his career with the Hawks with a hoard of accolades. His most exciting individual accomplishment was being named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.
“I did not know if I was going to play,” Lewis said as when talking about arriving on Rockhurst’s campus.
In his first exhibition game, Lewis went 1 or 8 from the field and committed seven turnovers. His thoughts of not playing were slowly becoming a reality.
His coach put him back out on the court the next game, but this time Lewis was ready to play. He played great and earned the starting point guard job.
Lewis played for Rockhurst for three years before making the decision to enter the transfer portal.
A lot went into this decision. Lewis talked with his coach at Rockhurst first, and the idea to transfer benefited both sides. Lewis got a chance to go somewhere and win, and a lot of new players were coming to Rockhurst that could use the playing time.
“It was like high school again, but people actually reached out to me” Lewis stated.
Lewis was humbled by the number of old coaches who reached out and how many coaches followed him on Twitter almost immediately after putting his name in the portal.
He received four scholarships in the first two hours and ended up with nine after his first week.
When it came to deciding on which scholarship to accept, Lewis wanted to go somewhere where he could win.
Despite originally telling the coach at Flagler University in Florida that he was not interested, Lewis chose to join the Saints after visiting the campus. He fell in love with the campus and knew they had a great team returning last season.
Flagler was the No. 2 team in Divison II heading into the preseason.
Lewis received his goal of winning as Flagler set a school record last season by going 23-8. The best regular season that Flagler has ever had.
Despite that, Lewis had an obstacle that he had yet to face in his basketball career.
He had to switch roles. Lewis was no longer the go-to guy that the team depended on to go take over the game.
Lewis even played up when he was in second grade, so this was a change. While he has never been a selfish player and enjoys passing to his teammates, at Rockhurst, Lewis was the primary ballhandler.
“If the coach needed me to score, I would do it”, Lewis said.
Flagler was a completely different story. Instead of being the No. 1 option, Lewis became a swiss army knife. He told Flagler’s coach right away that he just wanted to win and that he would do whatever he needs.
That is exactly what Lewis did in his final season of college basketball. Flagler’s roster already had two talented ball-dominant guards, so Lewis would pass the ball more, crash for rebounds, and dive for loose balls.
“Sometimes you have to be the biggest cheerleader,” Lewis continued. He just needed to switch his mindset, and he thrived.
Flagler would go on to make the NCAA tournament as a five-seed but lost in the first round to UNC Pembroke 74-70.
Flagler was up 14 points at the half before losing the game. To make things even more interesting, the game was scheduled on a Saturday. After a fast start to the season, Flagler went on to lose every game that was played on a Saturday in February and March. Lewis mentioned the word “superstition” multiple times when describing the season.
Even though Flagler lost, Lewis enjoyed his time at the tournament. They played at Augusta, and it was their third weekend in a row playing at that gym, so the environment was hostile, yet energetic.
Today, Lewis is working a full-time job at a bank in Florida. He is interested in going back to school in the next few years to receive his Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) with an emphasis in accounting. While he is not working or at the gym, he can be found trying out new recipes, like his new personal favorite, seafood mac and cheese.
