From the Horizon to the ACC: Taking a Look at Trey Lewis

Mark BlankenbakerApril 9, 2015

Trey Lewis (6’2, 190) comes to Louisville from Cleveland State. From the Horizon to the ACC. That’s quite a jump. But it’s not one that’s unprecedented. In 2013-14 Bryn Forbes and Trey Lewis were #1 & #2 respectively in scoring for the Vikings, but in 2014-15 Forbes moved on to Michigan State and Lewis remaining at Cleveland St.

While two different players, Lewis and Forbes share a lot of similarities. Minutes, FG %, 3 FG%, FT% for Lewis & Forbes are all similar in their final seasons at Cleveland State.

	Mins	Pts	PPG	FGM	FGA	FG%	3M	3A	3%	FTM	FTA	FT%	REBS	AST	STL	TO
Trey Lewis2014-15	1204	555	16.3	186	417	44.6%	96	227	42.3%	87	115	75.7%	148	97	42	78
Bryn Forbes2013-14	1102	498	15.6	154	355	43.4%	81	191	42.4%	109	132	82.6%	99	54	25	50

Striking Similarities in certain categories. But what can we take from this? Forbes BURNED Louisville in the 2015 East Regional Final and was 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. Forbes had perhaps his best performance of the season vs. the National Runner-Ups vs. Wisconsin when he hit for 21 points, on 8-9 shooting. But Forbes also had some clunkers along the way, 0 points in the National Semifinals vs. Duke, 3 points vs. Oklahoma in the Sweet 16. 3 points vs. Maryland, 1 point vs. Ohio State. For each double figure scoring night, there is a sub-par outing.

Forbes also played off the ball at Michigan State as Travis Trice ran point guard, much like when Bryn played with Trey Lewis at Cleveland State. So how did Forbes do as a Senior in the Power 5?

	Mins	Pts	PPG	FGM	FGA	FG%	3M	3A	3%	FTM	FTA	FT%	REBS	AST	STL	TO
Bryn Forbes2014-15	1022	332	8.5	110	246	44.7%	70	164	42.7%	42	52	80.8%	56	38	23	31
Bryn Forbes2013-14	1102	498	15.6	154	355	43.4%	81	191	42.4%	109	132	82.6%	99	54	25	50

Forbes logged about 80 minutes less in 2014-15 at Michigan State as opposed to his junior year at Cleveland State, and Bryn actually increased his shooting percentage from the field and from 3-point range. The scoring was down because the shots were down. Forbes took 109 less shots with Michigan State, just 69.2% of his output a year earlier…..his points were just 66.7% of his output while he was at Cleveland State. His minutes were 92.7% of a year ago as well.

So we really can’t tell too much from this. Did Bryn’s Forbes production go down because he made the transition from the Horizon to the Big Ten? Or was his involvement in the offense just less due to Michigan State having Travis Trice, Denzel Valentine, and Branden Dawson?

Next year, Louisville doesn’t have returnees on the order of Trice, Valentine, or Dawson. Instead of going into a supporting role like Forbes, Trey Lewis is going to be asked to LEAD the Cardinal Basketball program, and that may be the key difference between this comparison. There will certainly be an adjustment moving from the Horizon to the ACC, but how much likely depends on Louisville’s supporting cast and exactly how much of the offense runs through Lewis.