After coaching basketball at Shenandoah University for seven years, 43-year-old Willie Lewis stepped away from coaching for much of the last decade so he could focus on being a father.
He now feels the time is right to help mold more young individuals in an area that’s special to him.
A 2010 Shenandoah University graduate, Lewis was announced as James Wood High School’s boys’ basketball coach on Tuesday. Paul Hvodzovic — a varsity assistant at the start of last year — had been leading the Colonels on an interim basis after Chris Higgs resigned one game into the 2025-26 season.
Lewis spent two years as an assistant coach with the Hornets’ women’s basketball team (2010-12) and five with the SU men’s team (2012-17). His one year of coaching since was with the Virginia Valley Vipers pro basketball team — which formerly played in Winchester but is now in Loudoun County — in 2023. Lewis is a native of Alexandria and graduated from T.C. Williams High School.
The father of children ages 12 and 1, Lewis’ time away from basketball has included spending time with his son, who plays travel baseball. A Daniel Morgan Middle School student, Lewis’ son began playing football and basketball this year as well.
Lewis might not always be fully rested for his future coaching engagements as the father of a toddler. (“I got a little bit of sleep last night,” said Lewis in a phone interview Wednesday. “I got a little one, and sometimes she keeps me up all night. But I’m doing good this morning.”) But he’s energetic about working with young athletes again.
“I love basketball,” Lewis said. “And I love helping out young athletes as well. Watching some games, you miss being in it.
“I’m really excited to get to work. I’m really excited to do something that the community can be proud of. I’ve been living out here for a while. I fell in love with Winchester, and that’s why I never left. I just want to do something that’s going to make people proud, and just compete.”
Lewis wants to set his players on the right path for after graduation, and he’s looking forward to doing it as a head coach for the first time.
“My old coach used to tell me that if I don’t make you a better person than you are a player, then I’m not doing my job,” Lewis said. “I just really want to be able to help student-athletes. That’s what it really came down to [in applying for the James Wood job]. I want to make great student-athletes and make people who are good on and off the court.”
That coach was Biil Shay, who won 803 games and a national junior college championship from 1969-2009 at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania. Lewis played for Shay in 2002-03, and Shay shaped his coaching approach with his “E3” philosophy.
“Energy, effort, execution,” Lewis said. “If you do these three things, you’ll be able to compete on the basketball court and in life. You’re going to have adversity, so [these things] will help you get through it.”
James Wood is coming off a 7-15 season and did not qualify for the Region 4D tournament. Lewis said the Colonels’ playing style under him will partly depend on the physical makeup and the skill sets of the players he’ll coach, and he’s not sure what his player pool is yet.
“I am a defensive-minded person first,” Lewis said. “We have to be able to defend, rebound, and get the ball up in transition. Once I know what personnel I have, I can adjust to what I need to have [in my game plan]. I can’t run an offense with bigs if I don’t have any.
“Once I know the personnel, I’ll see what best fits us, whether it is a big man, inside-out [approach], or a motion offense with more guys on the perimeter, with good cuts and screens, backdoors, etc.”
— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.com
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