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Former players memorialize Guy V. Lewis

UH hosted a public viewing Wednesday. | Jessica Cruz/The Cougar

UH hosted a public viewing Wednesday. | Jessica Cruz/The Cougar

Guy V. Lewis was looked up to by many.

On Wednesday, UH hosted a public viewing in memory of the legend who died Nov. 26. Among the people in attendance were some of his former players and pupils.

Many said they looked at Lewis as a father.

Howard “Howie” Lorch came to Houston from New York in September 1962. Lewis gave Lorch a basketball manager scholarship, and Lorch said he used the scholarship to pay for his tuition and textbooks.

“Coach Lewis was very generous with me,” Lorch said. “He gave me the opportunity to go to college. I normally wouldn’t have been able to pay my own way.”

Lorch said his father died when he was six years old, so he viewed Lewis as his father.

“I could go and talk to him about things in general, and he would have no problem sharing his thoughts with me and giving me suggestions,” Lorch said.

Lorch said Lewis got him a job in the dormitory answering phones his sophomore year. He used the money there to pay for his housing at the Baldwin House, which was the athletic dorm at the time.

Lorch went on to become the head manager of the team and earned a full scholarship.

He recalls sharing an office with Lewis, no bigger than 12-by-12 feet.

“It was very meager beginnings for the coaches back then because we really didn’t have our own basketball facility,” Lorch said. “They would practice in the mural gym.”

Lorch said his favorite memory was being at the “Game of the Century,” when Houston played the University of California, Los Angeles in the Astrodome. He recalls big gates, red carpets and the 53,000 people in attendance.

“I still get goosebumps today because it felt like back in the Roman times (and) how they must have felt in the Colosseum and all the people were on their feet,” Lorch said. “I mean, that’s the kind of electricity you felt because here were the two greatest teams of their era going head-to-head.”

“Coach Lewis knew exactly what to say to guys in the dressing room to get them fired up,” Lorch said. “By the time he got through, they would run through a brick wall for him.”

-Howard Lorch, men’s basketball manager 1962

Houston pulled the upset against UCLA.

Lewis, Lorch said, could fire anyone up.

“Coach Lewis knew exactly what to say to guys in the dressing room to get them fired up,” Lorch said. “By the time he got through, they would run through a brick wall for him.”

Otis Birdsong played for Lewis from 1976 to ’77. Birdsong was drafted with the second pick of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Kansas City Kings. He appeared in four NBA All-Star games.

“When I came to (UH), coach Lewis was known sort of as a big man’s coach,” Birdsong said. “He actually built the offense around me, a guard, when I was here my four years.”

Birdsong said Lewis had a great passion for the game, for his players and basketball.

“He was basketball for (UH),” Birdsong said. “He was so important that (UH) hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since Guy Lewis retired.”

Five of Lewis’ teams played in the NCAA Final Four, four won conference championships and two won the Southwest Conference Post-Season Tournament.

“That lets you know what an impact he had on our university as a basketball coach,” Birdsong said.

Birdsong recalls the Southwestern Conference being one of the toughest at the time. He brought up a game Houston had against Texas Tech.

“We had a one-point lead,” Birdsong said. “We had just made a basket to go up one — with maybe five or six seconds left. (Texas Tech) inbound the ball, their player doesn’t even look at the basket he just catches it and heaves it. It goes in, and we lose by one.”

Birdsong said it was a devastating loss. He remembers Lewis running off the floor crying because the game meant that much to him.

“He just had that passion. He was a winner.”

-Otis Birdsong, men’s basketball player 1976 to ’77

“He just had that passion,” Birdsong said. “He was a winner.”

Lynden Rose is a former member of UH’s Board of Regents and played for Lewis from 1980 to ’82. He was part of the first Final Four of the three straight Houston had.

Rose, now an Attorney at Law at Stanley, Frank & Rose L.L.P, said Lewis was more than just a coach to him. He was also a mentor and a friend.

“He was there for me when I graduated from law school, (and) he was there when I was appointed to UH Assistant Board of Regents,” Rose said. “He was there with a glow in his eyes like a proud father would be.”

Rose’s son, L.J. Rose, now plays for Houston and continues his father’s legacy.

“(Lewis) would show up to the games and watch him play,” Rose said. “I would ask him if there was any similarities, and he would just laugh. So, it was great, great times. He’ll be missed.”

Rose said if there ever was a coach that put UH on the map to greatness, it was Lewis.

“From the integration of having the first African-Americans in Elvin Hayes and Don Chaney, that took a lot of courage for him to do,” Rose said. “To have the success that he’s had and to be innovative, to be a part of the game of the century.”

Rose said Lewis treated everyone on the team the same, from the 15th guy on the bench to the starters.

“I think, if you had to get a consensus opinion on coach Lewis, he was a great humanitarian. He taught us leadership skills. He taught us how to be men. He didn’t care where you came from. He treated everybody the same.”

-Jim Perry, men’s basketball player 1973 to ’77

“You didn’t have to be Clyde, or Elvin Hayes or Hakeem Olajuwon,” Rose said. “If you were a part of the team, he coached you and treated you like everyone.”

Jim Perry played for Lewis in Houston from 1973 to ’77. He now lives in Allen Park, Mich. but flew in to pay his respects to Lewis.

“I think, if you had to get a consensus opinion on coach Lewis, he was a great humanitarian,” Perry said. “He taught us leadership skills. He taught us how to be men. He didn’t care where you came from. He treated everybody the same.”

Perry said it was an honor and a blessing to play for Lewis, and he wouldn’t be where he is today without him.

“My favorite memory of coach Lewis was being in Springfield and seeing him inducted into the 2013 Hall of Fame,” Perry said. “Something that he never pushed for, but we did for him because he originally deserved to be there.”

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