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 The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

. He played two years of college basketball for

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

before venturing to New Zealand. He also had stints in England, Taiwan, Turkey and the Philippines.

College career

Graduating from

Ramsay High School Ramsay High School is a four-year magnet high school in Birmingham, Alabama. It is one of seven high schools in the Birmingham City School System and one of three International Baccalaureate schools in the Birmingham metropolitan area. Originally ...

as the 1988 Alabama Mr. Basketball, Lewis was set to join

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

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 Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20. With a population of 27,282 as of the 2010 census, it is the largest city between Midland to the west, A ...

, 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

. In two seasons for the Cougars, Lewis shot 40% (137-of-343) from three-point range. After helping WSU to the NIT in 1992, Lewis got a training camp look with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

and then was steered by his agent to New Zealand.Former Cougar Lewis rode basketball around the globe
/ref>

Professional career

Lewis landed with the

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." 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 The Hutt Valley (or 'The Hutt') is the large area of fairly flat land in the Hutt River valley in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Like the river that flows through it, it takes its name from Sir William Hutt, a director of the New Zeala ...

– 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 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and spent the 1995–96 season in Turkey. 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. He later spent the 1999–2000 season in England playing for the

Chester Jets The Cheshire Phoenix are a professional basketball team based in Ellesmere Port, England. Founded in 1984, they are members of the British Basketball League and play their home games at the Cheshire Oaks Arena. From 1993 until 2015 the team was ...

. Following a salary dispute, Lewis jumped ship and joined the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand 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 Can ...

for the 2002 season where he dominated playing alongside John Whorton. 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. Lewis finally left the Saints following the 2008 season after butting heads with coach Doug Marty. 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.Lewis signs for comeback
/ref> The Flyers went on to win the Open Men's championship with the help of Lewis.HIGH FLYERS
/ref>

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 New Zealand men's national basketball team is the senior men's national basketball team of New Zealand. The team is nicknamed the Tall Blacks. The ''Tall Blacks'' name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the All ...

– the highlight being a best-of-three tour against

Yao Ming Yao Ming (; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Associat ...

and the Chinese national team.

Personal life

Lewis and his wife, New Zealander Alinthian Reedy, have two children: Terrence Jr. and Ebony Jordon. Lewis is now employed as an officer for the

Aviation Security Service The Aviation Security Service (Avsec) is the operational arm of the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that is responsible for the delivery of aviation security at security-designated airports. Organisation The Aviation Security Serv ...

based at

Wellington International Airport Wellington International Airport (formerly known as Rongotai Airport) is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington. It lies 3 NM or 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand an ...

, New Zealand

References

External links

NBL player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Terrence 1969 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Basketball players from Birmingham, Alabama Canterbury Rams players Cheshire Phoenix players Howard Hawks men's basketball players New Zealand men's basketball players Ramsay High School alumni Shell Turbo Chargers players Shooting guards Small forwards Southland Sharks players Washington State Cougars men's basketball players Wellington Saints players Philippine Basketball Association imports