Scouting Report: Lewis Witcher

It’s almost a cliché now to hear the words “huge upside,” but Lewis Witcher indeed does fit that bill, at least as far as his long range future, perhaps even more so than any of the ’05 kids coming into VT at the 4 and 5 positions, although that is certainly arguable. Lewis changes ends of the court very well with outstanding speed. His face up jumper is better than average and a solid plus shot out to about 17 or so, although his release isn’t the quickest by any means. He is 6- 8, goes about 205, which was about the same frame that Philip McCandies had at the conclusion of his freshman season.

The thing that Witcher has that you immediately notice is a very live body. He is airquick, a fine leaper, shows solid agility and mobility inside, as well as in transition, and his lateral quickness is better than average for a 6-8 kid. He continues the recent tradition of excellent athletes along the interior and shows the ability to be a very good rebounder in college, especially on the offensive glass.

One of the more encouraging developments this spring is how well he has adapted to playing for the Boo Williams AAU team and facing elite caliber athletes with size in every game, something he rarely sees during the season at Franklin County. Two things have happened in the month-and-a-half that Lewis has been playing for Boo: #1-His activity inside and assertiveness have both improved significantly. I think this is a product of seeing the game called completely different on the AAU circuit than during his high school season. Lewis has adapted to the more physical nature of AAU play, where the whistles are generally swallowed, and that has allowed some of his movement skills and athleticism to come more to the forefront. He is challenging shots more, going after more rebounds inside than previously. In fact, two of the questions that I had about him prior to this spring AAU season was if he could get rebounds out of his area and how tough he was. Both of those questions have been answered sufficiently for myself, as Lewis has attacked the glass, gone after rebounds well out of his area, and played with a toughness and aggressiveness that I think he generally rarely showed on his high school team, where often you are called for breathing on an opposing player when you tower over everyone on the floor, like Lewis does at Franklin County.

The second thing that has developed this spring for Lewis is that he has become a much more decisive player inside and a markedly improved player from a confidence standpoint on the court, again probably a testament to how much the national AAU circuit has benefited his development. Lewis uses his quickness now much more to keep balls alive on the offensive glass and you can see that his confidence has developed to the point that he KNOWS he belongs out there. He will occasionally still not get completely faced up inside prior to shooting, and he still doesn’t quite finish inside in traffic the way you would like to see him, but that isn’t a concern because added upper body strength will substantially help there. Lewis uses his quickness and quick hops to come from the weak side to block shots or quickly rise over defenders for short jumpers in the paint.

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