Post by John on May 16, 2006 9:24:45 GMT -4
Basketball star Lewis collides with reality of NFL
By Clark Judge
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants completed their rookie minicamp Monday with former George Mason basketball star Jai Lewis lined up at left tackle.
For the moment, that's where he stays. But stay tuned.
There's been talk of Lewis as a long snapper. And there's always the possibility that he goes back to tight end, a position he played in high school. That, by the way, is the last time Lewis played football, which makes his move to the NFL -- how shall we say this -- intriguing.
It's a bold experiment by the Giants, who were sufficiently impressed by Lewis' pre-draft workout to sign him as a free agent. Now they're discovering what they have, and what they discovered this weekend wasn't much.
"It's hard to tell in a couple of days about anyone on the offensive line," said coach Tom Coughlin. "He's gotten a little bit better each time, but he has a long way to go."
No problem. Lewis has been down this road before. After all, his George Mason basketball team wasn't given much chance of making a dent in this year's NCAA Tournament ... yet it wound up in the Final Four.
Lewis knows the odds here, and they're not good. I know, Antonio Gates did the same thing, starring on a Kent State basketball team before jumping to the NFL. But at least he played a position he knew. He was a tight end in high school.
Lewis was a tight end in high school, too. He also played defensive end. But he's at neither position here. Instead, he must learn by blocking Osi Umenyiora in practice, and good luck.
"Sometimes I'm lost and don't know what I'm doing," said Lewis. "But I just have to focus even harder and keep asking the coaches a lot of questions."
Lewis' story is well documented. At George Mason, he played in more men's basketball games than anyone in school history, averaged 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season and scored 20 in the Patriots' 86-84 upset of Connecticut in the regional final. If anything, you'd expect him to try a future in the NBA, not the NFL. Except Lewis doesn't think he has one.
Yes, he averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds at the NBA's Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-draft tournament for pro prospects, but nobody showed an interest in him as a power forward. At 6-feet-5 (which is what the Giants list him as), he was told he was too short for the position.
Playing pro ball overseas might be an option, except there it's Lewis who isn't interested. He wants to stay in the United States, and, considering the lukewarm interest of the NBA, that limits his choices in at least one profession.
"Nobody talked to me as far as basketball," he said, "so I'm not going to let an opportunity go by waiting for something else. I'm going to take this opportunity with football and play it."
While several NFL teams were fascinated by Lewis, only one offered a contract -- and that was the Giants. They liked what they saw at his April 20 workout and believed he was worth a try, though they're realistic in their expectations.
"He's a project," said general manager Ernie Accorsi. "Basketball is a contact sport; football is a collision sport. It's a tremendous transition." He has that right. Though Gates is offered as a precedent, the two aren't all that similar. Gates was an all-state tight end at Detroit Central High, so good that Nick Saban, then the Michigan State coach who recruited him, called Gates "the best football player in the state."
Lewis wasn't that highly recruited, though Virginia Tech expressed interest in him as a defensive end, and East Carolina liked him as a tight end. He had to pass on both for academic reasons.
Now he's a left tackle because at 297 pounds and growing, he's better suited for blocking than he is running patterns.
"I think I have the intelligence (to play the position)," said Lewis. "Coaches told me I have the feet and good things, and I think I have the strength to compete with anybody. I just need to learn to pick up the plays and techniques that I haven't used in over five years.
"But I think I have the ability. The only time I got frustrated is when they ask about the plays I don't know the answers to. I'm not used to not knowing the answers to plays in basketball."
Ah, there's basketball again. Lewis is here because he has a ton of ability, and it's always tough to pass on superior athletes. He's here because the Giants are willing to wait on him; content to evaluate what they have, then coach it to a point where they can make a decision. Mostly, though, he's here because he and the club believe the same thing -- he has a chance to excel.
Which, come to think of it, is where Lewis was two months ago with his George Mason basketball team -- an experience that should benefit him more than anything that happened on the high school football field.
"In basketball, as far as going to the Final Four, we took all the negative energy that said we shouldn't be there and used it to fuel us," said Lewis. "Basically, I'm trying to do that, too. A lot of people are saying I can't make it, so I'm trying to use that energy to succeed."
And what happens if he fails? Don't ask.
"Right now I'm just going to be a football player," he said. "I'm thinking about making the 53-man roster. I'm not trying to settle for anything less."
By Clark Judge
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants completed their rookie minicamp Monday with former George Mason basketball star Jai Lewis lined up at left tackle.
For the moment, that's where he stays. But stay tuned.
There's been talk of Lewis as a long snapper. And there's always the possibility that he goes back to tight end, a position he played in high school. That, by the way, is the last time Lewis played football, which makes his move to the NFL -- how shall we say this -- intriguing.
It's a bold experiment by the Giants, who were sufficiently impressed by Lewis' pre-draft workout to sign him as a free agent. Now they're discovering what they have, and what they discovered this weekend wasn't much.
"It's hard to tell in a couple of days about anyone on the offensive line," said coach Tom Coughlin. "He's gotten a little bit better each time, but he has a long way to go."
No problem. Lewis has been down this road before. After all, his George Mason basketball team wasn't given much chance of making a dent in this year's NCAA Tournament ... yet it wound up in the Final Four.
Lewis knows the odds here, and they're not good. I know, Antonio Gates did the same thing, starring on a Kent State basketball team before jumping to the NFL. But at least he played a position he knew. He was a tight end in high school.
Lewis was a tight end in high school, too. He also played defensive end. But he's at neither position here. Instead, he must learn by blocking Osi Umenyiora in practice, and good luck.
"Sometimes I'm lost and don't know what I'm doing," said Lewis. "But I just have to focus even harder and keep asking the coaches a lot of questions."
Lewis' story is well documented. At George Mason, he played in more men's basketball games than anyone in school history, averaged 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season and scored 20 in the Patriots' 86-84 upset of Connecticut in the regional final. If anything, you'd expect him to try a future in the NBA, not the NFL. Except Lewis doesn't think he has one.
Yes, he averaged 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds at the NBA's Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-draft tournament for pro prospects, but nobody showed an interest in him as a power forward. At 6-feet-5 (which is what the Giants list him as), he was told he was too short for the position.
Playing pro ball overseas might be an option, except there it's Lewis who isn't interested. He wants to stay in the United States, and, considering the lukewarm interest of the NBA, that limits his choices in at least one profession.
"Nobody talked to me as far as basketball," he said, "so I'm not going to let an opportunity go by waiting for something else. I'm going to take this opportunity with football and play it."
While several NFL teams were fascinated by Lewis, only one offered a contract -- and that was the Giants. They liked what they saw at his April 20 workout and believed he was worth a try, though they're realistic in their expectations.
"He's a project," said general manager Ernie Accorsi. "Basketball is a contact sport; football is a collision sport. It's a tremendous transition." He has that right. Though Gates is offered as a precedent, the two aren't all that similar. Gates was an all-state tight end at Detroit Central High, so good that Nick Saban, then the Michigan State coach who recruited him, called Gates "the best football player in the state."
Lewis wasn't that highly recruited, though Virginia Tech expressed interest in him as a defensive end, and East Carolina liked him as a tight end. He had to pass on both for academic reasons.
Now he's a left tackle because at 297 pounds and growing, he's better suited for blocking than he is running patterns.
"I think I have the intelligence (to play the position)," said Lewis. "Coaches told me I have the feet and good things, and I think I have the strength to compete with anybody. I just need to learn to pick up the plays and techniques that I haven't used in over five years.
"But I think I have the ability. The only time I got frustrated is when they ask about the plays I don't know the answers to. I'm not used to not knowing the answers to plays in basketball."
Ah, there's basketball again. Lewis is here because he has a ton of ability, and it's always tough to pass on superior athletes. He's here because the Giants are willing to wait on him; content to evaluate what they have, then coach it to a point where they can make a decision. Mostly, though, he's here because he and the club believe the same thing -- he has a chance to excel.
Which, come to think of it, is where Lewis was two months ago with his George Mason basketball team -- an experience that should benefit him more than anything that happened on the high school football field.
"In basketball, as far as going to the Final Four, we took all the negative energy that said we shouldn't be there and used it to fuel us," said Lewis. "Basically, I'm trying to do that, too. A lot of people are saying I can't make it, so I'm trying to use that energy to succeed."
And what happens if he fails? Don't ask.
"Right now I'm just going to be a football player," he said. "I'm thinking about making the 53-man roster. I'm not trying to settle for anything less."