Boys Basketball: Grant's Allen Lewis heading into deep south to play college hoops

Updated: August 14, 2012 2:09AM

When it came time to decide on a college, the recruitment of Grant High senior basketball player Allen Lewis definitely was running hot and cold.

Hot, as in East Texas Baptist University, which is located 40 miles west of Shreveport, La., and is a place where you sweat outside in January.

Cold as in Crown College, which is located near Minneapolis, and is a place where you wear two pairs of gloves in January and dream about being in East Texas.

In the end, Lewis turned out to be a “hot” recruit, and will be playing his college basketball at East Texas Baptist, a decent NCAA Division 3 program located almost on the Texas/Louisiana border and directly east of Dallas.

Lewis has ball-handling skills and was a solid player for a Grant team last winter that reached the 20-win plateau.

Planning to major in criminal justice, he actually was on a visit to Crown College when another recruit who he’d been playing basketball with mentioned East Texas Baptist (both school have religious connections).

After leaving Minnesota, the Lewis family contacted the coach at East Texas Baptist, and that started the process that led to the senior heading south for the winter.

Instead of north.

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