KJ Lewis, a junior guard on the Georgetown University men’s basketball team, made headlines when he left the University of Arizona to become a Hoya. To build his roster for this season, Head Coach Ed Cooley recruited Lewis — among six transfer recruits and no first-years — to bolster the Hoya rotation after the losses of Thomas Sorber and Micah Peavy to the NBA.
ESPN ranked Lewis — who won a spot on the all-Big East preseason second team — the 30th most impactful transfer and the 96th best overall player in the country coming into this season. The El Paso, Texas, native was Arizona’s sixth man last year, where he gained a reputation as one of the best defensive players in the Big 12.
Lewis’ career with Arizona ended on March 27 following a 100-93 loss to Duke University in the Sweet 16. He entered the transfer portal two days later and — only a week later — committed to Georgetown April 6.
Lewis said it was a hectic time, but he knows he made the right decision to come to Georgetown.
“It’s definitely a quick turnaround, definitely a busy week for me, a busy week and a half, a bunch of schools calling, but ultimately, Coach Cooley was honest with me,” Lewis told the Hoya. “He saw what most people didn’t see in me. I just believed everything he told me.”
Cooley, at Big East Media Day in New York, said he has big defensive expectations for Lewis this season.
“I feel the Big East, at Georgetown, has the best defensive player in America in KJ Lewis. He is versatile. He is dynamic. He is quick-twitched,” Cooley told the gathered media. “I love what he brings to Georgetown basketball. Now, I’m writing his check and he has to cash it.”
Lewis said he always played with a chip on his shoulder, a mentality he more deeply internalized after his experiences in high school and at Arizona.
“I think the chip got bigger my junior and senior year, I dropped out of the ESPN 100 rankings in high school,” Lewis said.
“Then I got to college and I just felt like a lot of people didn’t value what I brought to the team and brought to the game on both sides of the ball,” Lewis added.
Lewis exclusively came off the bench for Arizona in his first year, averaging 18 minutes per game. Last year, he played 26 minutes per night and started 6 games, but perhaps felt like he deserved more.
In Georgetown’s first preseason scrimmage against the George Washington University on Oct. 18, Lewis played 27 minutes, the third-most of any Hoya, but he made only 2 field goals on 11 attempts and missed all 3 of his 3-point shots.
Lewis’s offensive numbers last year were not bad, especially given his playing time. Lewis shot 42.9% from the field and averaged 10.8 points and 2.9 assists per game. However, Lewis said one of his main goals this season is to become a more prominent offensive player.
“I’m trying to show people that my game has grown,” Lewis said. “Coach Cooley is going to put me in a lot of different situations. I just have to be ready and answer the call.”
Lewis added that Cooley’s honesty was a major factor in his commitment to Georgetown.
“He was just true to his word,” Lewis said. “That’s what ultimately I needed, that’s what I was looking for.”
Lewis — who missed Georgetown’s GLOBL JAM tournament games and summer practices following an injury — said he feels he and his teammates have developed well together despite his missed time.
“The chemistry has been great,” Lewis said. “From what I’ve seen on and off the court, we have all been gelling slowly. I think we’re right where we need to be as a team with our chemistry.”
Georgetown has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2021. Meanwhile, Lewis has already played in 6 tournament games as a part of two Sweet 16 runs with Arizona. Lewis thinks he can use his experience to help mentor his teammates.
“Being one of the guys with winning experience and tournament experience, I can help guys who haven’t been to the tournament, or who haven’t been in a role that they’re going to be in this year,” Lewis said.
At Georgetown, Lewis said he wants to be a leader and maintain his defensive output while he grows offensively.
“Obviously, just trying to be a leader on and off the court, defensively, still being a juggernaut that I am, and offensively, just trying to improve and grow every day.”
Lewis said he wants to beat the University of Maryland, which Georgetown plays Nov. 7 for the first time since 2016, for his teammates from the Washington, D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area.
“I have some teammates from the DMV, and I want to win it for them — you know, bragging rights for those guys, and obviously, for our program,” Lewis said.
Lewis, whose teammates from the area have stressed what it means to play basketball as a Hoya, said he plays as much for his team as he does for himself.
“They teach me the meaning behind Georgetown and what it means to represent the DMV and D.C.,” Lewis said. “Whatever we can for those guys that represent the hometown.”
