| Wins against Kentucky - 0 | Losses against Kentucky - 1 |
Alma Mater: Eastern Kentucky [1946]
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Date Born: January 6, 1921
Date Died: December 27, 1994
Overall Record: 187-118 [12 Seasons]
| Date | Matchup | UK Result | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/12/1964 | Syracuse at Kentucky | W | 110 - 77 | - |
Obituary - Sacramento Bee (December 31, 1994)
Former Coach Fred Lewis Dies at 73
by Jim Rattie
Dr. Fred Lewis, a basketball coach who turned Syracuse into a major power before spending his later years as a professor at Sacramento State, died Tuesday night at his El Dorado Hills home.
Lewis, 73, had spent the last year battling lung cancer. His death came the night before he and his wife, Eileen, were to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.
As word of his death spread Friday, friends and former players remembered Lewis as a tough but fair coach.
"He was a very intense competitor, a very on-top-of-you type of coach," said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who with former NBA great Dave Bing played for Lewis in the mid-1960s.
"We pressed and ran and played much like the game is played today. Our senior year, we averaged 99 points a game, at that time a record. He was ahead of his time coaching-wise."
Boeheim said he often ran into his former coach during the NCAA basketball tournament and that those reunions brought back memories.
"He'd always tell me when I'd see him, 'Now, Jim, take it easy, calm down,'" Boeheim said. "I had to laugh when coach would tell me that, because he was a fired-up guy."
Lewis coached Syracuse for six seasons and compiled a 91-57 record. He also held head-coaching jobs at Hawaii, Mississippi Southern and Sacramento State, where he spent the 1984-85 season as interim head coach.
He had a career record of 208-121.
Frank Hamblen, a former Kings assistant now with the Milwaukee Bucks, also played for Lewis at Syracuse.
"One of the great times in my life was when I was with Sacramento, I got to reunite with Fred on a coach level," Hamblen said. "I can't tell you how many evenings we spent just talking basketball."
Hamblen said he had dinner at Lewis' residence during the Bucks' last visit to Sacramento on Dec. 6. "We had a great evening," Hamblen said.
As a player, Hamblen said he had great respect for his former mentor. "He was a great X's and O's guy," he said. "I remember him as being tough but fair. He demanded and expected a lot of his players. If you messed up, then he'd get all over you. But in the end he was very fair."
At Sacramento State, Dr. Fred Furukawa had a long association with Lewis dating to the 1955-56 season at Hawaii, when Furukawa was a student-athlete and Lewis the coach. Furukawa later became a Sac State basketball assistant.
"He had a strong opinion about everything, right or wrong," Furukawa said. "He felt strongly about certain things. That was the way he worked."
"The thing I liked the most about him was you could have discussions with him, disagree, but the bottom line was you were still friends."
After Lewis left Syracuse, he accepted the athletic director's job at Sacramento State. He left the job after an administrative shake-up a year later to accept reassignment to classroom duties. In 1984 he became the Hornet's interim coach after being away from coaching for 16 seasons.
That job came about when a quick replacement was needed for Jack Heron, who had resigned for health reasons. Lewis had little time to prepare the Hornets, and the team finished with a7-23 record.
Lewis also is survived by two daughters, Barbara Hart and Joanne Lewis-McAuliffe, both of Sacramento.
The family plans a memorial service for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 7 at Fremont Presbyterian Church, 5770 Carlson Drive in Sacramento. Lewis will be cremated and his ashes scattered at his favorite fishing hole at Lake Pend Orielle near Sandpoint, Idaho.
