Four-star guard Acaden Lewis has become one of UVa’s top targets from the class of 2025 and last week the junior from Sidwell Friends School took another visit to Charlottesville and was in attendance for their overtime win against NC State.

“The visit was really good,” Lewis told CavsCorner. “They had a big game against NC State and NC State has been playing well. It was good to see them play NC State because NC State has good guards so I was able to really see how I would look playing against a really good team.”

Spending time with Tony Bennett and Jason Williford was another positive for the D.C. standout.

“I talked to Coach Bennett and Coach Williford after the game and they are just really genuine people,” he said. “I know that if I were to choose Virginia and go there for college, they would really help me become the best player I can be and develop me. Whatever college I choose to go to, I think I will be able to make a big impact on the program.”

Williford has been the lead recruiter for Lewis since the beginning but Lewis and Bennett have started to talk more and more, too.

“I have developed a really good relationship with Coach Bennett,” Lewis explained. “It is a really open relationship and it is always nice to hear from the head coach of a program. I like to hear from assistant coaches but when you actually hear from the head coach, it just hits a little different. He reaches out to me just as much as some other assistants do. You can really tell he is making me a priority, which I appreciate. He is just checking in on me every couple of days so I really appreciate Coach Bennett. He was one of the main people that wanted to get me to the game against NC State so I really appreciated that.”

Because of the talented and skilled guards NC State has on its roster, Bennett really wanted to get Lewis to Charlottesville for this particular game.

“NC State was a great game to go to because their guards are so aggressive and Coach Bennett was saying after the game that I would thrive in a game like that because of my ability to break down defenders who are guarding me,” he said. “He likes that I don’t really need a screen or a downscreen to break someone down, he likes how I break guys down just one on one.

“He also said that he could see me coming off ball screens, though,” Lewis added, “and playing faster for them which is something that they do not usually do but it was great to hear from him saying he would be willing to adapt if he has a player that can do it.”

Bennett has given Lewis high praise as he compares him to the reigning ACC Defensive Player Of The Year.

“He compares me a lot to Reece Beekman actually,” Lewis said. “He says defensively I have the ability to be like him, especially if I put the effort into doing so and I agree with that. On the offensive side of the ball, he said that I have a similar pace and he likes the type of decisions I make. He said he knows I can score the ball but also knows that I am a willing passer that can facilitate to my teammates as well.”

At this point in the process, Lewis is still very much in visit mode and expects that to continue after his high school season.

“After the season is really when I will start taking more visits and especially visits to schools that are not that local,” he added. “Some of those schools include UVa again, Florida State, Georgetown, Oregon, Georgia and a couple more that I really have not been to yet.”