Former Cleveland State Guard Trey Lewis Announces Transfer To Louisville

Louisville will be replacing one Northeast Ohio native with another, as former Cleveland State guard and Garfield Heights graduate Trey Lewis announced on Tuesday he is transferring to the Cardinals.

“I’ll be playing for a legendary coach in Rick Pitino and in front of the greatest fans in the nation,” Lewis said.

The addition of Lewis comes just about a week after Shaker Heights graduate Terry Rozier announced he would be leaving Louisville to enter the NBA draft.

Before making the decision, Lewis spoke to Rozier about what it’s like to play for Louisville.

“He was able to tell me about how it is to play under Rick Pitino,” Lewis said. “He told me he’s going to push you and expect you every day to be great. That’s the type of coach I would want to play for.”

There appears to be a chance for Lewis to make an immediate impact with Louisville. The Cardinals do not return a player who averaged more than 4.1 points per game last season, and Lewis should be asked to help manage the offensive load.

“What it came down to was the need and the want from Louisville was the perfect situation for me and what I’m looking for going into this last year,” Lewis said.

Lewis was also considering Ohio State and Xavier among others, but he felt that joining Louisville was just the right fit for him.

As a fifth-year graduate student, Lewis can play immediately for Louisville rather than have to sit out a year. This isn’t the first time he’s relocated, as he transferred from to Cleveland State after one year at Penn State.

It’s official! Headed south to be an angry bird #CardNation stand up!

— Trey Lewis (@Treylew3) April 7, 2015

Lewis was grateful for the time he was able to spend with the Vikings.

“I want to start off by thanking Coach Waters, the Cleveland State program and his coaching staff for everything they’ve done for me,” Lewis said. “That program means a lot to me and has developed me to this point in my life.”

A 6-3 guard, Lewis averaged 16.7 points per game for the Vikings this past season. He excelled from deep, as he hit 42.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.

In the Vikings’ fifth game this season, they played against Louisville, and Lewis finished with 24 points in a 45-33 loss.

“I remember going in there with the mindset that this was the type of stage I want to play on,” Lewis said. “This is where I want to be.”

This is the second season in a row that Cleveland State loses a key player to transfer to a major conference. Bryn Forbes went from the Vikings to Michigan State this past offseason due to family reasons and was a part of the Spartans’ 2015 Final Four team.

via: Cleveland.com