The hero N.C. State deserves

When I first heard N.C. State recruited 5-foot-11-inch point guard Tyler Lewis, I was a little on edge. Then I found out he was white. Immediately, I thought head coach Mark Gottfried had lost his head. The ACC just doesn’t have successful point guards at that height, especially with my own skin tone.

Little did I know, Lewis would soon break a stereotype I had created in my own head and possibly one that many fans of basketball have created themselves.

Growing up, I played basketball in my front yard. My hands and face would get filthy from the dirt court mixing with my sweat. I eventually took to the hardwood and stuck with basketball until I made it to high school.

I loved playing the game, but I had to deal with an unfortunate reality.

All of the great sub-6-foot NBA players were black. A former Wolfpacker, Spud Webb, and a Wake Forest Demon Deacon, Mugsy Bogues, are among the best under-6-foot players of all time, along with the likes of Tim Hardaway and Nate Robinson.

I was 5 feet 3 inches, scrawny and white. I couldn’t match up against the other guys, so I focused my attention on my tennis game, the sport I played throughout high school. Basketball was my favorite sport to play, so it wasn’t the easiest decision to make.

I’m 20 years old today. I’m still scrawny, I’m just 5 feet 9 inches and, of course, I’m still just as pale. Not exactly your ideal profile for a basketball player, but my love for the sport continues to this day.

During the fall 2012 semester, I had a class in the same building as Lewis and frequently passed him before class. I took careful note of his stature. His listed 5-11 is a bit generous as I nearly stood eye to eye with him, and his frame wasn’t much larger than my own.

I remained skeptical of Lewis throughout most of his freshman year til this point because of that. Plus, he hadn’t played a lot of minutes and when he was in, he didn’t create the plays that the taller, more experienced junior Lorenzo Brown did. Lewis wasn’t necessarily playing poorly, he just didn’t do anything.

Then I watched from the stands at John Paul Jones Arena as Brown went down with an ankle injury 10 minutes into the game against Virginia.

Freshman shooting guard Rodney Purvis ended up running the point much of the game and Lewis received just 15 minutes, raising my doubts about Gottfried’s trust in him as much as my own.

However, Lewis showed some positive signs when he was in. He frequently pushed the ball up court to offset Virginia’s tempo and dished out a couple of assists.

Four days later, Lewis came off the bench against the ACC’s first place team, Miami. That was the day he proved me and countless other doubters wrong.

He played 36 minutes, scored 16 points and had five assists on just one turnover. He drove in the lane, made passes that raised eyebrows and created plays that I believe surprised his own teammates.

The away game at Duke is quickly approaching and Brown doesn’t appear ready to play. Surprisingly, I’m not as apprehensive about that as I would have been a week ago. Lewis has shown what he is capable of and I have full faith that he can help guide State to victory.

And with that, he helped me kill a stereotype in my own head about short, scrawny white guys. If you’ve got the skill, you’ve got it. In that way, he has sort of become a hero for me. If I ever have a son that is my height, I hope he sticks with it and proves everyone wrong like Lewis has.

Unfortunately, the Pack has dropped both of its games since Brown went down. Despite Lewis’ efforts, Brown is still the better point guard right now. The team needs him back on the court soon if it wants to be a contender in March.

But for now, N.C. State couldn’t ask for a better replacement in the backcourt.

Tyler Lewis is the hero N.C. State deserves—especially for the short white guys—but he’s not the one it needs right now.