Derrick Lewis (basketball)

Lewis was born in Tarboro, North Carolina to Gertie and Robert Lewis. In his junior season, Lewis averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocks per game, and was selected in the All-Metro First Team by the Washington Post. and was selected to play in two high school all-star games: the Capital Classic and the McDonald's All-American Game. In the Capital Classic Lewis he scored 18 points, playing as a center and shooting 9/11 from the field. In the 1984 McDonald's All-American Boys Game he scored 4 points, all on free throws attempts, playing for the East team. == College career ==

Freshman season Lewis chose to wear number 33 at Maryland and was selected as a starter by coach Lefty Driesell since his freshman year. After coming off the bench for the first three games of the season, On February 24 he posted a career-high 14 rebounds against Wake Forest. During the tournament, Lewis played as a power forward, as the center was Terry Long. He recorded 71 season blocks, Junior season As a junior, Lewis gained an increased scoring load after the departure of Len Bias, who had left the team for the 1986 NBA draft. On January 28, 1987, Lewis recorded a triple double against James Madison with 29 points (a new career high), 23 rebounds (career high) and 12 blocks (another career high, and the best single-game mark in Maryland history). On February 18 he recorded his second triple double (the only player to record more than one in Terrapins history) with 32 points (his career high), 10 rebounds and 10 blocks against UMBC. He led his team in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals and field goal percentage. His 35.8 minutes per game in the season are the 8th best mark in the history of the Terrapins. He earned a selection as the ACC Player of the Week, and at the end of the season he was named in the All-ACC First Team with 182 votes (4th overall in votes behind Horace Grant, Kenny Smith and Joe Wolf), Senior season Lewis was considered one of the college basketball top defensive players when he returned to Maryland for his senior season; Sporting News ranked him the third-best power forward in college basketball behind Danny Manning and J. R. Reid, and included him in the preseason All-American watchlist. He ranked 4th in the ACC in rebounding with 7.6 per game. At the end of the season he was selected in the All-ACC Second Team with 69 votes. Lewis ended his career at Maryland with 1,458 points, 948 rebounds and 339 blocks. As of 2020, he ranks 19th all-time in points, third in rebounds and first in blocks. He also ranks second in career blocks per game average (2.7) behind Joe Smith (3.0). He posted 23 double doubles in his career, and he is the only player in Maryland history with 2 triple doubles. == Professional career ==

Beginnings and rookie season in the CBA After the end of his senior season at Maryland, Lewis was automatically eligible for the 1988 NBA draft. In April 1988 he was selected in the United States Basketball League (USBL) draft in the 6th round (50th overall) by the Jersey Shore Bucs. In May he was invited to the US national team trials to be part of the squad for the 1988 Summer Olympics; he did not make the team. In a June 28 article, the Baltimore Sun reported that Lewis was projected to be a second-round pick in the NBA draft: he was selected in the third round (62nd overall) by the Chicago Bulls. He spent the summer training with the Bulls, and signed a contract on October 7, 1988; however, he was waived on October 25, 10 days before the start of the 1988–89 NBA season. Lewis then decided to sign for the Rockford Lightning in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), the main minor league in the United States. In his rookie season as a professional player, Lewis played 52 out of 54 games of the 1988–89 CBA season, averaging 8.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocks: he ranked third in the CBA in blocks (126 in 52 games for a 2.4 average) behind John Campbell of the La Crosse Catbirds and Jerome Henderson of the Topeka Sizzlers. He also participated in the playoffs, appearing in 16 games and averaging 10.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1 steal and 1.8 blocks; At the end of the season, Lewis was named in the CBA All-Defensive First Team. First stint in France and USBL In 1989, Lewis moved to France for the first time in his career, and signed for Reims Champagne Basket, a team that competed in the Nationale A1, the first level of French basketball. In his first season in the league, Lewis led the league in blocks at 3.1 per game, and also averaged 15.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game in 34.9 minutes of playing time. On February 24, 1990, he recorded the only quadruple double in French league history against Lorient, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 12 steals and 10 blocks. He stayed with Reims for the following season where he played 11 games, with averages of 14 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.7 blocks, again leading the league in blocks. In the spring of 1991, after the end of the 1990–91 Nationale A1 season, he left France and returned to the United States, signing for the New Haven Skyhawks of the USBL, playing the 1991 season with the team. Return to France and Pro B In late 1991 Lewis returned to France and played 5 games with Reims, averaging 13 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3.4 blocks per game in 35.8 minutes of playing time. For the 1992–93 season he signed with Saint-Brieuc, a team that competed in the Nationale A2, the second tier of basketball in France. In 23 games he averaged career-highs in points (19.7), rebounds (10.6), field goal percentage (60.2%) and free throw percentage (88.4%); he also improved his three-point shooting, recording his first season shooting at least 30% from the three-point line (34.3%). He signed with Mulhouse for the 1993–94 season in the Pro B (the new name of Nationale A2). In 34 games he averaged 17.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.4 steals and 3.6 blocks: he posted career highs in steals and blocks per game, and lead the Pro B in blocks. Mulhouse ended the Pro B season in third place, just shy of promotion in Pro A. Seven seasons with Nancy In the summer of 1994 Lewis signed with Nancy in the Pro A. In his first season with the club, Lewis averaged 16.7 points, 10 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 3 blocks, while playing a career-best 38.3 minutes per game and shooting 51.1% from three (made 24 out of 47 total attempts). Despite Lewis' performances, Nancy ended 13th out of 14 teams in the Pro A, barely avoiding relegation. In the following season, Lewis averaged 16.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.1 blocks per game, leading the league in blocks for the third time in his career. Nancy improved and ended 8th in the league standings, qualifying to the playoffs where they lost to Pau-Orthez. Lewis played 21 games in the 1996–97 season, averaging 15.1 points, 8.8 rebounds (5th in the league), 1.4 steals (11th in the league) and 1.9 blocks, once again leading the league in blocks. Nancy qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to Pau-Orthez for the second consecutive season. In the 1997–98 season Lewis appeared in 30 games, and averaged 10.1 points, 8.6 rebounds (second in the Pro A behind Keith Hill of Dijon), a career-high 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals (11th in the league) and led the league in blocks for the 5th time in his career with 2.2 per game. In the 1998–99 season Lewis averaged 9.4 points (his first time in single digits in France), 7.1 rebounds (6th in the league), 2.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks (6th in the league in steals and blocks) over 29 games. For the following season Lewis played 21 games, averaging 9 points, 6.7 rebounds (10th in the Pro A), 2.1 assists, 1.7 steals (6th in the league) and 0.9 blocks (7th). In his last season with Nancy he appeared in 30 games and averaged 10 points, 8.6 rebounds (7th in the league), 2.8 assists and 1.4 blocks (4th). Nancy qualified for the playoffs, where they lost to Le Mans. Pau-Orthez: cup winner and Euroleague In 2001 Lewis signed with Pau-Orthez, the team that had won the league title the previous season and was due to participate in the 2001–02 Euroleague. Lewis played 26 games in the Pro A with Pau-Orthez, receiving limited playing time (17.7 minutes) and averaging career-lows in points (5.9), rebounds (4.3), assists (1.1) and blocks (0.3). He also appeared in 12 Euroleague games, playing 13 minutes per game with averages of 3.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.9 steals. Lewis was also part of the roster that won the 2001–02 French Basketball Cup. Final two seasons with Le Havre Lewis signed with Le Havre in 2002 and he was selected as a starter. He played 28.3 minutes per game and averaged 10.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks, ranking 15th in the league in rebounds. He played his final season as a professional in 2003–04, starting 11 out of 34 games and posting averages of 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 steals per game. He scored a total of 3,773 points, 2,443 rebounds, 715 assists and 533 blocks in the Pro A. == Career statistics ==

Domestic leagues Euroleague College == References ==