Former Houston head coach Guy V. Lewis, right, passed away at the age of 93.
Long-time Houston Cougar head coach Guy V. Lewis died Thursday morning at 93.
Lewis is best known as the architect of the Phi Slama Jama basketball teams, recruiting players like Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
He coached at Houston from 1956 to 1986. In his 30 years he produced 592 wins, including five NCAA Final Four appearances and two National Championship Game appearances.
Lewis also captured six Southwest Conference championships during his time at Houston and piloted the Cougars to 14 tournament appearances.
He was also an inductee of the 2013 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, joining two players he coaches, Olajuwon and Elvin Hayes, in that honor.
Lewis made an impact both on and off the court, as he was one of the first head coaches at a major Texas university to recruit black players in a time of racial distress.
Lewis and his teams also participated in The Game of the Century — a matchup between the Cougars and the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins — which took place at the Astrodome.
This article was from University of Houston / The Daily Cougar and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
