Kylon Lewis 6'3 170 2021 Thomas Dale High School, Chester VA
The Thomas Dale High School basketball program has seen a complete reversal of fortunes from a year ago. At this time last year, their season was over after a 5-19 campaign but now they're in the VHSL state semi-finals after a 20-5 season. A huge part of the turnaround has been the stellar and consistent play on both ends of the floor of 6'3 junior guard Kylon Lewis. Kylon is a tremendous athlete with good quickness and a lengthy frame. He is a matchup nightmare demonstrating the ability to score in a variety of ways including spot-up jumpers as well as scoring off the dribble. He can finish at the rim with highlight-reel dunks showing effortless and explosive leaping ability and also does a good job of utilizing ample body strength to absorb contact and creativity to score through contact. He is dangerous in the open floor with his speed and leaping ability coupled with a capable handle and passing skills in addition to his ability to create off the dribble.
Kylon has a great basketball frame with long legs, a massive 6'10 wingspan, and solid upper body strength. He can get to the rim quickly with minimal dribbles, long, rangy strides and an impressive burst. He is in fact at his best attacking off the dribble where he demonstrates great body control and some shiftiness negotiating his way through traffic and gets to the rim with good frequency. He is a dynamic playmaker who is a threat to score or pass on the move and does a good job using his dribble to draw the defense and then find open cutters or make the kick-out pass. Very good court awareness and instincts when creating off the dribble. Kylon has a great touch and can finish with either hand at the rim. He is an explosive leaper and can finish above the rim as well, also gets to the line at a good rate where he is a reliable free throw shooter. He compliments his slippery basket attacking prowess with the ability to knock down shots on the perimeter. Kylon moves well off the ball and catches the ball shot ready. His length allows him to shoot over the top of many defenders and his shot preparation allows him to get into his shot quickly. He uses his long strides to attack hard closeouts and scores on the move nicely using floaters, side-step moves and great creativity attacking the rim. A left-handed shooter he has a mechanically sound and smooth stroke with a three-point range. In addition to his offensive exploits, Kylon offers plenty of defensive versatility. He is an excellent on-ball defender showing good lateral quickness and awareness as well as a high effort level. Makes great reads in passing lanes and also does a very good job rebounding both ends of the floor. He is someone you have to keep a body on because he is so active especially getting to the offensive glass for stick backs.
Kylon can defend any position at the high school level summoning his length and toughness around the rim and his lateral quickness, excellent footwork and length on the perimeter to defend the dribble and contest shots. In addition to his versatility and high level scoring productivity on the court Kylon has produced impressive results in the classroom as well where he boasts a 3.75gpa taking honors classes! Largely a hidden gem until the surge of this Thomas Dale High School basketball program, Kylon has become one of the most promising prospects in Virginia's 2021 class!
