Lewis Jackson (basketball, born 1989)

After graduating high school, Jackson attended Purdue University to play under head coach, Matt Painter, and along with All-Conference players in E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, and JaJuan Johnson. In his freshman season, Jackson used his speed and ball handling skills to become the team's starting point guard, where he started in 30 of the 36 games in which he appeared, while setting a school freshman record with most games played in a season. His 30 starts were two less than Russell Cross's 32 starts in 1981. Leading Purdue in assists with 3.4 a game, his 118 on the season is second most by a freshman behind Bruce Parkinson's 147 mark in 1973. On January 27, 2009, Lewis ran into a hard pick made by Wisconsin's Joe Crabbenhoft early in the game, where he sustained a concussion, forcing him to sit out a game. He scored in double figures seven times (3-4), while averaging 5.9 points per game and handing off 3.4 assists a game to lead the Boilers on the season. After leading the boilers to an 11-7 record in Big Ten play and to a 27-10 overall record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance, Lewis was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, along with the likes of current NBA player, Byron Mullens.[1]

In the spring of 2009, Jackson was involved in a traffic stop in his hometown of Decatur, Illinois, resulting in community service and missing the two exhibition games, as well as the season opener. After sitting out the three designated games for his suspension, Lewis injured his foot during practice, which left him sidelined, wearing a foot cast after he received surgery. On January 28, 2010, Lewis appeared in his first game of the season in a home meeting against Wisconsin. As the team's primary point guard, he helped lead AP-ranked #6 Purdue to a 14-4 conference record (10-1 in games which he appeared) and onto a Big Ten title, the program's first in fourteen years. On March 3, 2010, Lewis had a huge performance with 9 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds in a win against in-state rivals, Indiana. With nine games recording 4+ assists on the season, including a 9 assist performance against Siena in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, where he also pulled down 6 rebounds and scored 8 points. He led Purdue with an average of 3.5 assists per game. Jackson helped Purdue to consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances and onto a 29-6 record.[1]

At full health entering the 2011 season, Jackson averaged 8 points, while leading Purdue with 4 assists and shooting 50.3 percent from the floor as a junior. He averaged 3.2 rebounds and shot 71.6 at the line, as well. He grabbed season highs of 6 rebounds twice against Valparaiso and North Florida, scored 11 points against Valparaiso, and a career-tying high with 9 assists against Austin Peay. In a game against IPFW, Lewis had 8 assists and 8 points with no turnovers. He scored a then-career high 17 points in a road game at Penn State. On January 22, Jackson scored a new career high 19 points against Michigan State. Lew scored in double figures eleven times. On December 20, Jackson was named a Bob Cousy Award candidate. Becoming more of a needed scoring option for the Boilers, he averaged 10.2 points a game in conference play (14-4) and helped lead the Boilers to a 2nd-place finish. Jackson was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. He helped Purdue to the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 25-8 record.[1]

Jackson joined fellow seniors Robbie Hummel and Ryne Smith as tri-captain for the 2012 Purdue basketball team. Beginning the season with a troubling foot, he managed to average 12.5 points and 4 assists in his first four outings of the season (4-0). On November 18, 2011 against Temple, Lewis recorded a career high 26 points, shooting 8-14 from the floor and making 10 of 11 at the free throw line. Two days later, Jackson tallied a career high 9 rebounds in a loss to #15 ranked Alabama. On December 19, Jackson was named a candidate for the Bob Cousy Award for the second year in a row. Leading Purdue to a 20-11 record, Jackson averaged 10.4 points (2nd on team), 4.2 assists (1st), 1.3 steals (1st), and 3.2 rebounds (3rd), while shooting 72.8 percent at the line. In early December, Lewis began battling foot pains and back strains, forcing him to miss a majority of practice time. On the season, he's scored in double figures 16 times, which includes two 20+ point performances (2-0). Jackson held one of the best assist to turnover ratios in the nation, leading the Big Ten, while having the most career assists (451) amongst active Big Ten players, just ahead of Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor. At the culmination of the regular season, Jackson, along with teammate DJ Byrd, was named Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, a repeat for Jackson. On March 9 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in a loss to #7 Ohio State, Lew dished a career high 10 assists, while recording his first double-double, scoring 10 points. In his last season at Purdue, Jackson led the Boilers to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to Kansas. He led them to a 22-13 overall record on the season. During his college career, Purdue went 104-37 overall, making him the winningest starting point guard in the program's history.[1]