As he closes in on his 1,000th career point, Lasell University guard Marcus Lewis '25 is no longer letting his play do all the talking.

The self-described introvert has become a vocal leader for the Lasers, an unforeseen development when the multi-skilled native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, arrived on campus as a freshman in the fall of 2021.

"Marcus was very guarded and very quiet his first year. He may not have said 10 words all season," Coach Aaron Galletta remembers. "He struggled with the adjustment to college life and managing his time."

The 6-foot-4 Lewis has taken on a leadership role for the resurgent Lasers, urging on his teammates on the court and in huddles, speaking up during film sessions, and mentoring his younger teammates. He even represented the student body in a recent discussion with members of Lasell's Board of Trustees.

"Lasell has helped get me out of my comfort zone and become more confident," says Lewis, who will graduate with a degree in sport management in May and hopes to pursue a career in finance or sales. "I've made a lot of friends outside of basketball and athletics."

Lewis and a pair of brothers from Atlanta, Andy '27 and Esmer Madesko '28, have led Lasell (19-6 overall, 12-2 Great Northeast Athletic Conference) to its best season in years. Heading into Tuesday's GNAC Tournament quarterfinal at 7 p.m. against Dean or Anna Maria, Lewis is averaging 16.2 points a game (second on the team to Esmer) and a team-best 7.2 rebounds a game for the second-seeded Lasers. He has scored 983 career points.

Lewis played little as a first year and averaged 5.2 points a game as an occasional starter as a sophomore. The turning point in his Lasell career came during a discussion with Galletta after his second season.

"We talked about goals and Marcus said, 'I want to be all-conference next year' " Galletta recalls. "He had the talent, but I knew it would involve a lot of hard work and a change in his work ethic."

Rather than head home to Florida for the summer, Lewis stayed on campus to work on his game every day. He lifted weights to strengthen his body, improved his outside shot and ballhandling, and enhanced his court awareness.

"I saw junior year as a chance to make a name for myself," Lewis says. "That summer I focused on basketball and had tunnel vision."

The result? Lewis led the Lasers in scoring (18.2 ppg) and minutes played (34 a game) and finished second in rebounding (6.4). He was named to the all-conference second team as Lasell finished 16-10.

This season Lewis has willingly shared the spotlight with the Madesko brothers as the Lasers are seeking their first 20-win season since 2007-08.

"Everyone has made sacrifices for us to win," Lewis says. "I thought we would be better than last year, but I didn't think it would be like this."

Story courtesy of David Nathan