By Zach Braziller
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — Isaiah Lewis will likely transfer from Christ the King and become the latest city star to leave the area, he said during The Hoop Group’s Summer Classic East showcase.
The highly recruited 6-foot-3 combo guard, who was benched late in the season by Royals Coach Joe Arbitello, said he’s considering St. Anthony of Jersey City, St. Patrick (N.J.) and Montrose Christian (Md.). Lewis has already visited powerhouses St. Anthony and Montrose and wants to visit St. Patrick. He plans to make a decision in August.
“My family wants me to have the best senior year I could possibly have,” Lewis told the New York Post last Thursday. He led ECE Mass to the finals at Summer Classic East.
Lewis and Arbitello both described the move as a “mutual decision.” Lewis said he and Arbitello “didn’t see eye-to-eye. Lewis did say his family wasn’t happy when Arbitello suspended the standout for two playoff games for what he described then as a “coach’s decision.” At the time, Lewis said it was about his getting “over-emotional” and “giving” him “space to get his head straight.”
“I wish Coach Arbitello the best,” he said. “It’s a great school. It helped me out a lot. I’m not going to bad mouth Christ the King at all.”
As far as his college situation goes, Lewis said he has recently heard from Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State. Miami is his favorite right now, he said, though he isn’t close to making a commitment. Kansas, which was linked to Lewis previously, isn’t out of the picture, but Lewis said they are recruiting other guards.
“I’m trying to go somewhere I’m not looking over my shoulder and I’m going to play,” he said.
It’s been a wild few weeks for the dynamic Manhattan native. In addition to his decision to leave Christ the King, his AAU team, the New England Playaz, was one of four teams — Florida Elite, Worldwide Renegades and SEBL Elite were the others — banned from playing in NCAA-certified events in July when the NCAA found it had improper contact with agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports. The team changed names and uniforms and was allowed to compete in July, given director T.J. Gassnola was not involved.
“Before I did anything, I made sure it would do nothing to hurt [my college eligibility],” he said. “All the college coaches know I’m with them. I didn’t want to leave. I found out it was going to be good and it wouldn’t affect me.”
After the weekend’s Summer Jam Fest with ECE Mass, Lewis will travel with the New England-based program to Las Vegas for the Adidas Super 64. Then, he will focus his attention on finding a new high school.
