AMHERST — In his first two years at Canisius, UMass transfer guard Zach Lewis’ scoring average went up, but his percentages went down.
As a freshman, the guard from Windsor, Connecticut, was a key contributor averaging 9.5 points per game while shooting almost 40 percent (38.9) from 3-point range.
But as a sophomore, he was the focal point of the offense. He led the Golden Griffins with 12.5 points per game, but shot 31.5 percent from outside.
“Watching him on tape, he shot a lower percentage than he did the year before, but he was forced into a bunch of late shot-clock situations where he was taking bad shots because he was forced to,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “He’s a guy that’s proven when he has other good guys with him he can score at a better clip than if he has to take ill-advised shots. Hopefully he’s feeling that you don’t have to force as much with this team.”
Lewis said he was happy to trade alpha dog status for a chance to be part of a better team.
“I had to make a lot of tough plays at Canisius. Here it’s about making the simple play and making the right play and playing hard,” he said. “I’m just going to play as hard as I can in the span of the game.”
Lewis said nobody needs to force their offense on this team.
“With the guys we have, we have a lot of scorers and guys who can make plays,” Lewis said. “We really have a complete team. Now it’s just about making plays and finishing plays.”
Kellogg said Lewis’ approach is typical of the team so far.
“The one thing this team has done better than any team in a while, is they’re sharing the basketball,” Kellogg said. “They have a natural instinct to move the ball and share it.”
Lewis said he found what he was looking for at UMass.
“I wanted to be around a basketball culture. That’s something I found here. There’s a lot of history here,” he said. “I could see where this program is going. I’m excited to be part of it.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage