Florida Basketball: Gators get major recruiting win with Scottie Lewis’ commitment

Five-star Scottie Lewis’ commitment gives Florida Basketball three top-40 class of 2019 recruits. It’s been a huge recruiting week for Mike White and the Gators.

Consensus top-15 2019 recruit Scottie Lewis verbally committed to the Florida Gators on Tuesday evening per Jeff Goodman of Watch Stadium. In what ended up as a two program race, Lewis essentially chose Florida over Kentucky.

Lewis is a fabulous recruiting coup for head coach Mike White and his staff. According to 247Sports, Florida was the first school to get involved with the 6-foot-5 wing and they put in significant time in wooing him over the last three years. The Eatontown (NJ) native had been on the Gainesville Campus numerous times, including this past fall when he made an official visit. Comfort level was a major reason he selected the Gators.

"“I just felt very comfortable there. I have relationships with all of the players and all of the coaches. There was no place where I had a better relationship with the coaches, and everything just felt like a family atmosphere.”"

Since starting to recruit Lewis, Florida reportedly never missed a game that he has played for New Jersey’s Team Rio National during an NCAA recruiting period.

Lewis trimmed his list down to seven schools back in June, which also included Duke, Harvard, St. John’s, Stanford and Villanova. He was slated to make an official visit St. John’s this upcoming weekend. Overall, he held 24 scholarship offers.

Lewis has held steady as one of the most highly touted prospects in the class. 247 Composite and 247Sports have him ranked No. 11 overall while ESPN and Rivals have him at No. 13 on their lists.

Lewis, who thrives in the open court, is one of the most explosive athletes in the country. He also possesses a high-motor and is tremendously gifted physically. However, it is his ability to finish at the rim and defensive prowess that separates him from other prospects.

Lewis still has things to work on according to ESPN’s scouting report. He mainly needs to become a more reliable ball-handler and shooter.

Lewis earned first-team All-State accolades after averaging 16.4 points while leading Ranney Prep to it first-ever non-Public titles. He helped the USA Basketball U17 squad capture the gold at the 2018 World Cup in Croatia this summer. He produced 9.5 points along with 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists a contest over six games.

Lewis is the first five-star player to commit to the Gators under White. He joins top-35 recruits Omar Payne and Trey Mann as well as Ranney teammate Alex Klatsky in the 2019 class.

Unless something occurs with the roster, Florida does not project to have any more scholarships available for 2019.

White is 69-37 in his three seasons at Florida. The Gators have topped the 20-win plateau in each of the three seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament the last two.