Friends and family are mourning the loss of a local basketball legend.
Alonzo Lewis, 77, a basketball star at La Salle University and a highly successful coach at Chester High School, died on Tuesday after being struck by a car.
Lewis was on his way to watch the Archbishop Carroll and Neumann-Goretti girls’ basketball semifinal game at Philadelphia University, according to his family. Police say Lewis was crossing the intersection on School House Lane and Henry Avenue in front of the University at 6:39 p.m. when he was struck by a car making a left onto Henry Ave.
Lewis was taken to Temple University Hospital and pronounced dead at 7:16 p.m. Police say the accident was not a hit-and-run and the driver stayed at the scene.
As a basketball player at La Salle University, Lewis scored 1,137 points, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. He also played on La Salle’s 1954-55 team, which lost to Bill Russell’s San Francisco team in the NCAA Final.
Lewis later coached basketball at Chester High School from 1985 to 1995. During his tenure, he led the team to a 237-67 record, going down as the third winningest coach in the school’s history. He also coached at Cheyney University.
Outside of basketball, the Daily News reports Lewis also taught history and English and had a reputation for encouraging his student athletes to excel on and off the court.
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“He tried to use history as a means of explaining to the kids where they come from, where they’re going and how they can get there,” Chester assistant coach Terry Thomas told the Daily News.
Lewis is survived by a wife, two daughters and three grandchildren. While funeral arrangements are pending, Chester High coaches are organizing a memorial at the school’s gym on March 3, according to the Daily News.
