Guy V. Lewis, Coach of Phi Slama Jama Teams, Dies

HOUSTON (AP) – A legendary college coach, who was born in Smith County, has died. Former University of Houston men’s basketball coach Guy V. Lewis, who was born in Arp, has died at the age of 93. The school said Thursday he died Thanksgiving morning. Lewis coached the Cougars for 30 years but was best known for leading the Phi Slama Jama teams in the 1980s. He guided Houston to back-to-back NCAA title games in 1983 and ’84 but never won the national championship, losing to underdog N.C. State in the 1983 final on Lorenzo Charles’ last-second shot. Lewis won 592 games and reached five Final Fours. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.