Charlotte Lewis life and careers depict a slice of the American Dream of a youngster from the projects who used sports and education to raise herself up above poverty, and now gives hope to others on a daily basis.
Lewis arrived on the Illinois State campus with an interest in playing volleyball and running track. Her high school didnt sponsor basketball, but when Redbird basketball players saw Lewis jump, they jumped at the chance to recruit her for their team.
Now Lewis jersey No. 30 will join fellow Illinois State basketball All-Americans and USA Olympians Doug Collins and Cathy Boswell in the rafters of Redbird Arena starting with a special ceremony at halftime of Saturdays womens basketball game between Illinois State and Creighton.
We were doing a drill in volleyball practice where we touched the basketball net or rim, said Lewis. Some basketball players came in and saw me and I guess they decided I could help their team. Anyway, they got me to play basketball and, just two years later, I was trying out for (national) teams.
After her sophomore year--just her second year of organized basketball--her coach, Jill Hutchison, helped arrange a tryout for Lewis, a 6-foot-2 powerhouse post player, for the national team which was getting ready for the Pan American games, then the World Championships, then the World University Games and finally the 1976 Olympics. In between, Lewis helped the Redbirds to 12th place in the 1974 National AIAW (forerunner to the NCAA for women) Tournament. By the time she finished, there were four straight AIAW State Championship banners at Illinois State.
Lewis values her early international experience.
I got cut from that first team (1974), but made it the next year and I realized that basketball was worth it, said Lewis, who went on to play 15 years as a professional, primarily in Spain and Brazil, before beginning her current careers with the State of Illinois Department of Corrections and as a recreation specialist.
Just one thing was missing. As time progressed, Lewis became the only Redbird senior player not to complete her degree. Lewis knew that, and when her pro basketball career ended, she set out to reach that goal.
Miss Hutchison (as Lewis always has called her coach) didnt believe I would do it, but I did it and it felt good, said Lewis, who finished two programs in Recreation and Park Administration in May, 2001. Now, Lewis is ready for her jersey to join ISUs other greats.
Im proud to be up there with Doug and Boz (Boswell), said Lewis. Doug was still at Illinois State when I started there and we shot baskets together a few times. I knew Boz from (Hutchisons) summer camps and we crossed paths playing (pro ball) in Spain. They were truly great players and I have great respect for their accomplishments.
Lewis accomplishments stand on their own against any player. In 1977, she was a Kodak All-American. The next year, she was one of 30 national finalists for the Wade Trophy as the nations top female athlete. The same year, she was drafted and played in the WBL, the first recognized womens basketball professional league.
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Hutchison still admires Lewis skills and accomplishments as a player, but values what Lewis, a Peoria native who grew up in the Taft Homes projects, did to earn her degree and what shes doing with it now.
Charlotte spent two years working three jobs and attending two schools, said Hutchison, who now can point with pride to the fact that every one of her senior players during a 28-year coaching career earned a degree. Now, she is beginning an after-school program in Peoria where she can have tremendous influence. She designed the after-school program to focus on academics and recreation.
Lewis knew it would be tough ... and it was; almost as tough as being a non-graduate.
It was hard to be the only one who didnt graduate, said Lewis. But I had to work a lot of jobs and study hard to do it. Even with that schedule, I got As and Bs. It was worth it, though.
Hutchison has great respect for Lewis ability to overcome hardships.
In those days, we didnt know a lot of what we know now (about athletes), said Hutchison. But we were mystified as to why, early in her career, Charlotte wasnt a better scorer. She had a great shot.
Finally, they saw the problem.
Her vision was bad, said Hutchison. She couldnt wear contacts, but Kodak, which was big in supporting womens basketball at the time, made her a special set of glasses. They were ugly things, but she wore them and got better.
And opponents paid for it.
When Charlotte went up for a rebound, everybody else cleared out of the lane, said Hutchison. She was a dominant player even though shed never played before college. She would dominate today.
Lewis respects womens college basketball and the players of today, who use a smaller basketball, have a 30-second shot clock and a three-point field goal line among other changes.
Its a good game, said Lewis. Id like to think I could still play, but, today, youve got girls starting out at a much younger age. Coaches know the game better at every level, and they really benefit from things like weight lifting. Its a good game and I enjoy watching it.
She has seen head coach Jenny Yopps current Redbird team, a youthful group which includes five freshmen and five sophomores, and sees better things ahead if, like Lewis, they learn to believe.
I think the coaches know what theyre doing and have confidence, said Lewis. I think the players need to look deep into themselves and believe in their hearts that they can play. The players have talent. They just need to believe in themselves. The coaches cant do it for them. They have to believe in themselves, and each other, and it will happen for them.
Lewis remembers Hutchison as a coach who would challenge her, and all her players. Her brightest memory of playing for Hutchison was simply sneaking a peak at the bench during the game.
She would challenge us and only accept our best, said Lewis. She knew what our best was and we knew how she felt during the games. If Miss Hutchison was standing up, we knew we werent playing hard. If she was sitting down, we knew we were okay.
Lewis cue for Hutchison wont work during Saturdays banner-raising ceremony at Redbird Arena because, like everyone else, Hutchison will be standing ... because, on the court, in the classroom and in life, Lewis has played hard.
