Terrence Lewis (basketball)

Last updated

Terrence Lewis
Personal information
Born (1969-10-20) 20 October 1969 (age 54)
Birmingham, Alabama
NationalityAmerican / New Zealand
Listed height193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight95 kg (209 lb)
Career information
High school Ramsay (Birmingham, Alabama)
College Howard College (1988–1990)
Washington State (1990–1992)
NBA draft 1992: undrafted
Playing career1993–2009
Position Shooting guard / small forward
Career history
1993–1996 Wellington Saints
1994 Shell Rimula X
1995–1996Antalyaspor
1999–2001Wellington Saints
1999–2000 Chester Jets
2002 Canterbury Rams
2003–2008Wellington Saints
2009 Southland Flyers
Career highlights and awards

Terrence Lewis (born 20 October 1969) is an American-New Zealand former professional player who played the majority of his career in the National Basketball League for the Wellington Saints. He played two years of college basketball for Washington State before venturing to New Zealand. He also had stints in England, Taiwan, Turkey and the Philippines.

Contents

College career

Graduating from Ramsay High School as the 1988 Alabama Mr. Basketball, [1] Lewis was set to join Providence for his freshman college season, but later failed to meet the academic requirements of Proposition 48 after recording an ACT score of 14. Instead of sitting out a year at Providence, Lewis opted to go the junior college route and enrolled at Howard JC in Big Spring, Texas, where he earned first-team JUCO All-America honors after shooting 62.5 percent from the field and averaging close to 27 points per game as a sophomore in 1989–90. After his junior college eligibility ran short, Lewis committed to play for Washington State. [2] [3]

In two seasons for the Cougars, Lewis shot 40% (137-of-343) from three-point range. [4] After helping WSU to the NIT in 1992, Lewis got a training camp look with the Seattle SuperSonics and then was steered by his agent to New Zealand. [5]

Professional career

Lewis landed with the Wellington Saints and averaged 29 points per game in his first season in 1993. He subsequently earned NBL All-Star Five honors that year, but noted his displeasure of the league's import focus, stating "You were only allowed two imports per team and everything was focused on the imports and it could be frustrating because I'd get a teammate an open shot – an easy layup – and he'd give the ball right back to me. I wasn't there to be arrogant and take every shot." [5]

It took four seasons for Lewis to run into an overseas basketball turmoil experience. Following the 1996 season, sponsorships dried up and the Saints merged with a team in nearby Hutt Valley – whose owner didn't have any use for Lewis. So he returned to the United States, had knee surgery and in the meantime – as he had during New Zealand off-seasons – he made cameos in other countries. He had a brief stint in the Philippines in 1994 and spent the 1995–96 season in Turkey. [5]

Having earlier married a New Zealander, a return to the country seemed inevitable – and, sure enough, after another ownership shuffle, Lewis was a Saint again for the 1999 season. [5] He later spent the 1999–2000 season in England playing for the Chester Jets. [6]

Following a salary dispute, Lewis jumped ship and joined the Canterbury Rams for the 2002 season where he dominated playing alongside John Whorton. [7] [8] He returned to Wellington in 2003 where he claimed his first and only championship, despite having two coaches quit and the team nearly folding for lack of money. [5] Lewis finally left the Saints following the 2008 season after butting heads with coach Doug Marty. [5]

After hanging up the boots in late 2008, retirement did not sit well with Lewis, and in July 2009, he signed with the Southland Flyers for the National Provincial Championships. [9] The Flyers went on to win the Open Men's championship with the help of Lewis. [10]

International career

In 2000, Lewis began the process of becoming a naturalized citizen of New Zealand, and two years later joined the national team, the Tall Blacks – the highlight being a best-of-three tour against Yao Ming and the Chinese national team. [5]

Personal life

Lewis and his wife, New Zealander Alinthian Reedy, have two children: Terrence Jr. and Ebony Jordon. [5] Lewis is now employed as an officer for the Aviation Security Service based at Wellington International Airport, New Zealand

Related Research Articles

The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Canterbury Rams.

Paul Donald Henare is a New Zealand professional basketball coach and former player.

Kevin Brooks is an American professional basketball coach and former player. Born in Beaufort, South Carolina, Brooks is a graduate of White Castle High School in White Castle, Louisiana and graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

Jeremy Brian Kench is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL).

Nick Horvath is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). In 2010, he became the first person to win an NCAA championship (2001), an ANBL championship (2009) and a NZNBL championship (2010).

Leslie Galen Young was an American professional basketball player. He played two years of Division I college basketball for the Charlotte 49ers, where he earned first-team All-Conference USA honors in 1999. He played professionally in the United States and abroad for 13 years, winning a Continental Basketball Association championship in 2007 with the Yakima Sun Kings and an Australian National Basketball League championship in 2010 with the Perth Wildcats.

Terrence James Gregory Roberts is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Syracuse before playing professionally in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America, New Zealand, and the NBA Development League.

Mark Robert Dickel is a New Zealand-Australian former professional basketball player and coach.

Phillip Charles George Jones is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He played in Australia, Finland, and Italy, but is best known for his 22 seasons with the Nelson Giants in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He also played for 14 years for the New Zealand national team.

Lindsay Michael Tait is a New Zealand former professional basketball player.

Thomas Iain Abercrombie is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the New Zealand Breakers. A product of Westlake Boys High School in Auckland, Abercrombie had a short-lived college basketball stint with Washington State before debuting in the Australian NBL in 2008 with the Breakers. In 2011, he won his first NBL championship and earned Grand Final MVP honours. He went on to win three more championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015. He ended his NBL career in 2024 as the Breakers' most-capped player with 429 games.

Leon Hofeni Nehemiah Henry is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He debuted in the New Zealand NBL in 2004 and won seven championships in 19 years. He also played five seasons in the Australian NBL, where he won three straight championships with the New Zealand Breakers between 2011 and 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corey Webster (basketball)</span> New Zealand basketball player

Corey Webster is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Auckland Tuatara of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He joined the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the first time in 2008 after a season of college basketball in the United States for Lambuth University, and won championships with the club in 2011, 2013 and 2015.

The 2009 NBL season was the 28th season of the National Basketball League. Two changes occurred for the 2009 season, with the Christchurch Cougars replacing the Canterbury Rams, and the Otago Nuggets also withdrawing. The Waikato Pistons won the championship in 2009 to claim their fourth league title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Duinker</span> Australian-Dutch basketball player

Joshua Duinker is an Australian-Dutch former professional basketball player who last played for the Kumamoto Volters of the Japanese B.League. He has been a member of the Dutch national basketball team and holds a New Zealand passport because of his mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Jones (basketball)</span> American/New Zealand basketball player

Marcel Xavier Jones is an American-New Zealand professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers between 2004 and 2008 before embarking on a professional career that spanned across the globe, from Europe and the Middle East, to his adoptive home of New Zealand. Since 2009, Jones has had consistent yearly stints in the New Zealand NBL, largely due to gaining New Zealand citizenship in 2012. He also played consistently in the Persian Gulf region between 2017 and 2022.

Marques Reid Whippy is a Fijian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Brigham Young University in Hawaii before playing professionally in Spain, Australia, Chile and New Zealand. He has been a regular member of the Fijian national team.

Ronnie Wynn Joyner was an American basketball player. After two years of college basketball at Washington State, he moved to New Zealand in 1984 and played 17 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). He finished his career as the league's all-time leading scorer with 8,828 career points.

Ethan Rusbatch is a New Zealand basketball player for the Franklin Bulls of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He began his New Zealand NBL career in 2012 with the Southland Sharks after spending one season in the United States playing college basketball for Lincoln Trail College. After playing for the Taranaki Mountainairs in 2013, he spent the next four seasons with the Canterbury Rams. He joined the Hawke's Bay Hawks in 2018 and won the NZNBL's Most Improved Player in 2019. He also played two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL.

Peter Alfred Charles Pokai is a New Zealand former basketball player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL) and represented the New Zealand Tall Blacks at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.