Initially moving from El Paso to Tucson to live with his dad when growing up, Arizona freshman guard KJ Lewis said that his experience in the Old Pueblo helped “give me the dream” to play for the Wildcats.

“Being a big fan of the Sean Miller era and Aaron Gordon and all of those guys, it was definitely a big help [in my decision to come to Arizona],” Lewis said Thursday.

Lewis said that he didn’t watch any games at the McKale Center, but remembers watching Arizona play Wisconsin in the Elite Eight at Trident Pizza Pub.

“That was my closest to getting to watching them play,” Lewis said.

Lewis, a four-star recruit from Duncanville, TX, will not only get to watch his childhood team but get to suit up for them and has the opportunity to be a key contributor in head coach Tommy Lloyd’s system.

Lewis mentioned that he and Lloyd have built a good relationship since he’s been recruited and that his coach has “full belief in me when nobody else did, so I love that man.”

When asked about Lewis’ game, Lloyd only had positives to say about the freshman.

“One of the things I love about KJ is [that] he solves problems with effort,” Lloyd said after the Red-Blue game. “... He plays with a relentlessness that I think is gonna be infectious for our team.”