Michael Lewis

One of the greatest point guards in Indiana basketball history, Michael Lewis is in his third season on the Husker basketball coaching staff. Lewis, who joined the NU staff after spending five seasons at Butler, works with the Husker guards and plays a major role in the Huskers’ offense as well as opponent scouting.

In 2018, the Huskers posted their highest scoring average in 22 years, as NU finished fourth in the Big Ten with a school-record 13 conference wins and reached the NIT Tournament. Lewis played a critical role in the development of James Palmer Jr., who garnered first-team All-Big Ten honors and averaged 17.2 points per game in his first season as a Husker.

In 2017, Tai Webster earned second-team All-Big Ten honors and set career highs in both scoring and assists, while Glynn Watson was among the Big Ten leaders in scoring and steals.

During his five years at Butler, the Bulldogs made four postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournaments. In each of the three NCAA appearances, the Bulldogs won at least one NCAA game, including wins over Texas (2015) and Texas Tech (2016). He was also part of a Butler program which orchestrated the fourth-best win improvement in Big East history in 2014-15. In his tenure at Butler, he coached four players who combined for six all-conference awards, including a trio of first-team honorees. Off the court, three of his players garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, while Kellen Dunham and Alex Barlow combined to earn three straight Big East Scholar-Athletes of the Year in his tenure at Butler.
In 2015-16, the Bulldogs went 22-11 before falling to Virginia in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Three players earned All-Big East honors, including second-team selections Roosevelt Jones and Kelan Martin. In addition, he helped recruit a class which was rated among the nation’s best by Rivals in 2016.

Lewis, well-known as a prep and college basketball player in Indiana, was invited to be part of the Villa 7 Consortium in 2015, which brings together university athletic directors and the country’s elite assistant coaches in an effort to prepare the next generation of college basketball leaders.
Lewis was named an assistant coach at Butler in May of 2011. He joined the Bulldogs’ staff after spending six seasons as an assistant at Eastern Illinois University. Lewis had a successful stint at Eastern Illinois, where he was named one of the “Top 5” assistant coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference by FoxSports.com in 2010. He was responsible for recruiting several top players to Eastern Illinois, including 2009-10 All-OVC players Tyler Laser and James Hollowell. He helped the Panthers to a 19-12 mark in 2009-10, the third-highest win total since Eastern Illinois became a Division I program.

The Jasper, Ind., native also served as an assistant coach for one season (2004-05) at Stephen F. Austin and for two seasons as a graduate assistant under Coach Bob Knight at Texas Tech.

A talented backcourt player, Lewis had a successful undergraduate career at Indiana from 1997 to 2000. He was a team captain and earned third team All-Big Ten honors as a senior, when he was also named MVP of the 1999 Hoosier Classic. He was named to the Big Ten All-Star Team that toured Europe in 1997, and he finished his collegiate career as Indiana’s all-time leader in assists with 545. In 2012, Lewis was picked No. 46 on a list of the Top 50 players all-time at Indiana compiled by the Indianapolis Star. Following his graduation from Indiana in 2000, he played professional basketball for two seasons both domestically and overseas.

Lewis had an outstanding high school career at Jasper High School in Indiana, and he finished his prep playing days in 13th place on Indiana’s all-time high school scoring list with 2,138 career points. The 1996 Jasper graduate was named to the Indiana All-Star Team following a senior season that saw him named the Gatorade Player of the Year.

Lewis earned a master’s degree from Texas Tech in 2004. He and his wife, Nichole, have two daughters, Avery and Emma.