Lewis a fast rising star
ALTHOUGH his 203cm frame begs to differ, Lewis Thomas is the most unlikely of rising basketball stars.
After all, the 17-year-old Woodlands boy took up the sport only four years ago, after realising his towering height would be much more advantageous on the court than on the soccer field.
And upon being told he was the sole West Australian selected to attend the prestigious Nike All-Asia Camp for the game’s brightest young stars, he admitted he had never even heard of the event.
But while the Hale School student is surprised by his quicker-than-expected success, he puts it all down to a simple formula: long hours honing his skills in the gym.
“My progress does surprise me a bit, because I’ve seen other guys in my age group who have been playing for a long time, and it’s a bit of a shock that I’m at their level so quickly,” he said.
“But it all comes down to hard work, because I’ve done a lot of work on my game in the last 18 months.”
The young forward, who plays with the Stirling Senators and recently represented the State under 18s side, was one of eight Australians to be invited to the camp in Beijing earlier this month.
Lewis said it was an invaluable experience to learn from the coaches and train with the best up-and-coming players from the Oceania region.
“Seeing the players there, and how they prepare and train just made me want to work even harder,” he said.
“We had a couple of NBA players give us advice, which was mainly about mental toughness and how to beat adversity, and that really rubbed off on me. It was a terrific learning experience.”
Lewis said he hoped to emulate the achievements of countryman Patrick Mills, a past attendee of the camp who has since starred for the Australian national side and is expected to enter the NBA next year.
“It’s a tough track to go down and they are big shoes to fill, but I hope to eventually reach the NBA and represent my country,” he said.
“But my goal for the moment is to successfully finish my TEE first, and then see if I can continue to improve my game after that.”
Article & Photo from Stirling Times
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