Alonzo Lewis death 'a tragic story'

Speedy Morris won't soon forget the brief exchange he had with Alonzo Lewis after Tuesday's Big Five Hall of Fame luncheon at the Palestra.

"I was walking in the parking lot, and he was driving away," the St. Joseph's Prep coach. "He stopped and said, 'They'll let anybody walk around here.' He was in great shape."

Hours later, while crossing the street to a Catholic League girls' playoff doubleheader at Philadelphia University, Lewis was killed in a car accident. He had guided Chester to two PIAA Class AAAA state championships

"It's a tragic story," longtime Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer said. "I was shocked when I opened the paper and read about it. It's real sad."

Morris coached for 17 seasons (15 with the men's team, two with the women's squad) at La Salle University, where Lewis scored 1,137 points in the early 1950s.

"He embraced me when I was at La Salle, was very supportive," Morris said. "He was a good friend. Any time he saw me, he went out of his way to be nice."

In his 10 years at Chester, Lewis, 77, compiled a 237-67 record (.780 winning percentage) and won six league championships. His Clippers took home state gold in the 1988-89 and 1993-94 seasons.

"He was a no-nonsense type of coach, always toed the line with his players," said Morris, who said he never coached against Lewis while in charge at Roman Catholic and Penn Charter.

Fred Pickett assisted the hard-driving Lewis at Chester. He succeeded his friend, who left to coach at Cheyney University, after the 1994-95 season.

"His practices were always three hours long," said Pickett, who stepped down after winning the state crown in 2007-08. "He took about 45 minutes of that time talking about life. And he did it every day."

Pickett said Lewis made it a point to schedule the toughest competition available. And travel to prestigious tournaments, in Florida and elsewhere, was common.

"He wanted to expose the kids to as much as he could," Pickett said. "He wanted to expand their world."

Lewis also coached at the old Darby Township and Academy Park. His overall high school record was 433-146 (.748).

"When I was at Penncrest, his Darby team played against us," Downer said.

The Chester coaches are still working out the details, but there are plans to recognize Lewis before the Clippers host Norristown at 7 Friday night in a District 1 Class AAAA quarterfinal playoff.

Height-challenged. Despite not having any player taller than 6-foot-3, Central Bucks West is 22-2 and one of eight finalists for the District 1 Class AAAA title.

"We're a five-guard offense," Bucks coach Adam Sherman said. "This team wins because it plays together and plays unselfishly."

The Suburban One League Continental Conference champions, spurred by 6-3 seniors Derek Dyer and Tyler Schechter, will host Wissahickon in a quarterfinal at 7:30 Friday night.

The starting lineup also includes senior wings Jack Rogers and Shane Kellar, and sophomore point guard Jared Kelly.

Sherman uses up to nine players. "A lot depends on the flow of the game and how it's going," he said.

Against the Trojans, C.B. West will have to contend with Tonah Kpassagnon, a 6-7, 245-pound senior headed to Villanova for football.

"He's got the size advantage," Sherman said, "but he may have trouble defending some of our guys."

Wissahickon's Jordan Reed, a 6-3 senior swingman, is averaging 25.5 points. "He's a great athlete, probably one of the best in the district," Sherman said.

Dyer and Schechter are averaging 14 and 12 points, respectively. Kellar has drained more than 40 three-pointers.