After leading South Kitsap's girls to playoffs, Anthony Lewis has Wolves' boys winning
It's not often that a high school coach changes jobs while remaining in the same sport at the same school.
But that's the situation Anthony Lewis finds himself in this winter as boys basketball coach at South Kitsap.
The 27-year-old Lewis took the lead of South Kitsap's girls program in 2022-23 and guided the Wolves to the playoffs, finishing with an 11-11 record. It was an eight-win improvement from the previous season.
Instead of Lewis' arrival signaling the start of a sustainable turnaround, it turned out to be a one-and-done campaign. Lewis was hired in the offseason to coach South Kitsap's boys team, which finished 2-15 in 2022-23 under interim head coach William Smith.
"It was a difficult decision," Lewis admitted. "I had so much fun with the girls. I wanted to build something with them, so it wasn't easy. The boys feels so much more comfortable for me. It's more natural."
Under Lewis this winter, South Kitsap's boys have already surpassed last season's win total. The team is 4-5 overall and 2-3 in South Puget Sound League 4A play after falling at home Thursday against Puyallup, 67-60. Senior Kenny Miller said the Wolves are beginning to show that, unlike last season, they can battle on a nightly basis despite facing opponents that expect an easy win.
"We're the most disrespected in the league," Miller said.
Against Puyallup, the Wolves trailed for much of the game and saw its deficit grow to 17 points near the end of the third quarter. Yet the home team didn't disappear in the fourth. Three times, South Kitsap pulled within three points in the closing minutes, but the comeback attempt fell short.
"When you can cut down a deficit like that and just fight, you can't be too mad at that," Lewis said. "You'd just like to see that the whole game so we're not in that situation."
Slow starts have been an issue for the Wolves. A 69-62 home loss against Bremerton on Dec. 29 might have been avoided had South Kitsap not fell behind 17-4 early.
"We kind of dig ourselves a little bit of a hole," Lewis said
Lewis is the type of coach that doesn't sit quietly on the bench when the Wolves need a vocal jumpstart or correcting. He's almost always on his feet, patrolling the sideline, pointing, motioning, guiding players.
"I try to get as close to the action as I can," Lewis said. "I try to get them to feel my intensity."
If the Wolves can match their first-year coach's intensity earlier in games, perhaps South Kitsap can achieve a reversal of fortunes over the second half of the season: turning narrow losses into victories.
"It's just a matter of getting over the hump," Lewis said.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: South Kitsap basketball coach Anthony Lewis now coaching boys team
