ODowds human highlight reel

Look out for Shawn Lewis, one of the premiere sky walkers in Northern California. A great leaper at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Lewis played exclusively inside until this season. Teamed with LMU-signee Brandon Walker, the two form the best one-two punch in the Bay Area and although Lewis is not signed to a four-year school at this point, he is giving college coaches a good reason to come and watch the Dragons finish the 2006-07 season.

The term explosive comes to mind when discussing the lethal lefty, but Lewis, always one of the tallest kids on the team at each level beginning with fourth grade, had been relegated to playing in the post because of his rebounding proficiency and ability to defend taller players, but his role changed with the arrival of Doug Vierra as head coach at the East Oakland hilltop campus.

Lewis, reflecting on the past three years and on his current situation said, "my freshman year at Berkeley and my first two years here (O'Dowd) were spent playing in the paint and my shooting wasn't part of the plan because my rebounding ability was needed."

Much to his credit, Lewis remained patient despite the frustration of not having a larger role in O'Dowd's offensive scheme. Later, he recalled how coach Vierra sat down with both he and Brandon Walker this past summer to discuss expectations. "He said we were the leaders as seniors on this team and the team would go as far as we were willing to take them," said Lewis.

The enthusiastic tone in his voice speaks volumes about how much Lewis enjoys the direction of the O'Dowd attack and his role in it. The Dragons currently own a 9-1 mark in the HAAL, including their last five in a row, and 10 of their last 11 wins as part of their overall 15-5 record and Lewis is a huge reason why. His patience has paid off in a big way and he has had his way while stringing together some monster outings. During the recent stretch, he collected 28 points and 13 boards (11 of 14 from the charity stripe) in a win over Castro Valley and pulled together an eye-popping 38-point, 16 rebound masterpiece against the high-octane Tennyson Lancers in a game won by O'Dowd, 94-91. In that contest, he had 18 first-quarter points.

Shooting 54% from the field and averaging over 21 points (over 23 in league play, first in the HAAL) and eight rebounds per game, Lewis has seen his stock rise on the local prep scene. Unranked in the NorCalPreps.com Top 40 for the class of 2007 last June, he debuted at No. 25 six weeks ago so a move up the charts seems inevitable considering his play and the fact he was listed as a forward, when he has displayed some very steady skills as a wing/shooting guard.

In coach Vierra's system, Lewis has the opportunity to play out on the perimeter more often in order to exploit his ball-handling skills and passing prowess, as well as utilize his explosive first step to get to the rim. The key for Lewis is the success he has obtained from the perimeter. He can consistently hit from beyond the arc (he canned four 3-pointers in a win over San Leandro), where he shoots at a 40% clip. Shawn accurately describes himself as a slasher and combining that element of his game with serious elevation on his jump shot plus the ability to explode by defenders to the rim and you've got a difficult assignment for O'Dowd's opponents.

Like most southpaws, Lewis favors going to his left, but says with a bit of amusement, "I hear opposing coaches telling their players to take away the left, so I just go right."

He is a two-foot leaper reminiscent of the original "human highlight film," Dominique Wilkins, owns a 42-inch vertical leap, and can crash the boards, sometimes with spectacular results, so boxing him out is a high priority for the opposition.

Besides being a great athlete, Shawn is also a solid defender. In the mold of Hasaan Adams, formerly of Arizona and now in the NBA, Lewis utilizes his strength, spidery frame, and long reach to bang inside against taller opponents. At times, such wars have been a source of foul trouble but Shawn relishes going against the big guys as he did when facing highly-touted Drew Gordon of division foe Archbishop Mitty in an earlier match-up this season when, despite fouling out, he put together a respectable outing.

Lewis admittedly analyzes the game of NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. "The way they defend and utilize their offensive skills, inside and on the perimeter, are some of the things I watch closely and try to use in my own game," he says.

Lewis maintains a 3.2 GPA in the classroom and recently scored a 1320 on the SAT so eligibility will not be an issue. Early interest came from Stanford, and most recently UC Irvine joined a list of suitors that includes Northridge, Davis, Pepperdine and Washington.