UCLA assistant Michael Lewis will be the next men’s basketball coach at Ball State, it was announced Friday.
Lewis will take over the Cardinals’ program after the Bruins finish their season. UCLA faces North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Friday night.
He succeeds James Whitford, who was fired March 14 after nine seasons with the Cardinals. Ball State went 14-17 this season, including a 9-10 mark in Mid-American Confererence action.
“Basketball in our state is personified in Michael Lewis,” Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz said in a statement. “His outlook on the game, relationship building, recruiting network, pedigree and proactive approach to engagement with our stakeholders resides at a high level. Additionally, his program values and standards on the court, in the classroom and the community will create a road map for the Cardinals to move onward, compete for Mid-American Conference titles and position our institution for a return to the NCAA Tournament.”
Lewis, a standout point guard who still ranks second in career assists at Indiana while playing for coach Bob Knight, has been an assistant coach for 18 seasons, including the last three at UCLA.
He also has coached at Nebraska, Butler, Eastern Illinois, Stephen F. Austin and Texas Tech.