NBLC Alumni: Morgan Lewis
6'4
Guard
From Painesville, Ohio
Draft: 2011
Tenure: 2011-2014, 2016-2017
1x Champion
1x All-NBLC
When Morgan Lewis touched down in Canada, he couldn't of known he was about to make NBL Canada draft history. The skill, stamina and superior efforts on offence, defence and team work he showed in his first season and throughout his NBLC career showed there could have been no other choice for first-overall pick.
As a minor, Lewis played for Thomas W. Harvey High School in his hometown of Painesville. He later joined up with the Findlay Oilers, with whom he finished the 2008-09 NCAA season with a perfect 36-0 record. Later the team went on to win the division two championship, Lewis himself scooping up the award for final tournament MVP.
His first professional basketball contract was with KR in Iceland, reaching the semi-finals of the Urvalsdeild with playoff averages of 23.4 points and 6.5 rebounds. He then saw a high-scoring season in the German second division with Wohnbau, averaging 18.1 points in 16 games. After which, he went on to make history closer to home.
Lewis entered the inaugural NBL Canada Draft in 2011 and became the first player to be chosen first overall. He was selected by the Oshawa Power, who saw in him a lot of promise they could nurture into a franchise player.
He started in twenty-four times in twenty-five games his first NBLC year, opening the season with four double-digit games in a row. He went on to win three player of the week awards, one coming after his Febuary 10th performance where he posted 39 points and 10 rebounds in a four-point win over the Halifax Rainmen, his season-best performance. He averaged 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals, as well as notching up five double-doubles by the season's end.
The following season he joined up with the London Lightning, this time registering 11.4 points, 5.1 total boards and 3.0 assists per game, his part in London's league-best 33-7 regular season record. His best game for London came on November 8th against his old club, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 total rebounds in a 121-95 win over Oshawa. From there he and the Lightning reached the NBLC finals and downed the Summerside Storm three games to one, winning their second championship.
In 2013 Lewis re-signed with the Power, who were now in Mississauga, and where he saw career-bests of 37 starts in 42 games, 17.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He also recorded twelve double-doubles on the season and had his highest scoring total on January 30th, where he led all with 37 points as the Power took down the Brampton A's.
His numbers in the 2013-14 season earned him a place on the All-NBLC Second Team, but nothing he or the Power could do would prevent a disastrous playoff performance, which saw them swept by eventual champions, the Windsor Express.
He took a break from Canada the following season, travelling to Saudi Arabia for a spell with Al Hilal, but at the season's conclusion he moved back to the NBLC. With his new team, the Island Storm, he averaged 9.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in thirty appearances, one of which saw him put up a season-high 22 points at home against the Moncton Miracles. The Storm qualified as Atlantic Division fourth seeds in the playoffs, but their run was brought to a swift and sudden end by the Halifax Hurricanes.
Lewis last played professionally in 2017 with two fleeting performances with the Cape Breton Highlanders. Seemingly calling it a career after that, he left a lasting legacy as one of the brightest stars of the NBL Canada's early days, finishing his time in Canada with 1781 career points and 760 rebounds, as well as serving as a lasting example for all future newcomers to the Canadian domestic basketball ranks.
