News - Ron Lewis Returned to Israel for 5th Professional Season!!

(Image - Former Buckeye Ron Lewis slams it down - Israel circa 2008/2009)

Big time basketball fans like us know that the free agency/off-season transfer period is one of the most interesting aspects of following the pro game. It is all about the fun & excitement of wondering about where your favorite players will play next for the upcoming season.

Lewis 2011! Big news broke in mid August 2011 when Israeli Basketball Club Hapoel Holon announced the addition of Pro Buckeye Ron Lewis for the 2011/2012 season! This will be Ron's second stint in Israel after spending his last two pro seasons in the European countries of Belgium & the Czech Republic.

The guard from the Midwest region of the United States played his rookie year (2007/2008) in Leuven, Belgium before joining Israel's Ironi Nahariya for his second pro season (2008/2009). Lewis won the Czech Championship, Czech Cup, & also advanced to the 2010 Eurocup Final Eight with Czech powerhouse CEZ Nymburk in the 2009/2010 season. Furthermore, he then returned to Belgium in 2010/2011 for a team called Dexia Mons. With Mons, Ron advanced to the Eurochallenge Last 16, the Belgian Playoff Semi-finals and also won the 2011 Belgian Cup Championship!

(Four completed pro seasons so far, three different countries, four playoff appearances, two Cup Championships, one league/playoff Championship, competed in two European competitions - 2009/2010 Eurocup & 2010/2011 Eurochallenge)

Israeli ties - Ron Lewis is no stranger to the Israeli basketball community. Fans & media may remember him from his 2008/2009 stint with Ironi Nahariya. As one of the league's best scorers that season, Lewis helped Nahariya advance to the 2009 post-season playoffs.



The top coaches from the Israeli Basketball Federation know Lewis very well. Ron played for former Israeli National Team coach Muli Katzurin (pictured left with Lewis - 2009/2010 Eurocup - getty images) in the Czech Republic where they won a championship with CEZ Nymburk. Katzurin's successor and current head coach of the Israeli National Team is Arik Shivek who coached Lewis in Belgium during the 2010/2011 season.

Premier League - The Israeli Super league, sometimes called the Premier League is the country's top division of pro basketball. We think the Israeli league is comparable to the Belgian League in strength (a couple top squads that compete in Europe & quality imports, the domestic talent is ok, but not the best which kind of reminds us of Belgium). The most well known club in Israel is called Maccabi Electra of Tel-Aviv. Maccabi T-A is a Euroleague team that routinely features some of the top players of International basketball. This is the squad that every team in Israel wants to dethrone as Maccabi is responsible for 3 of the last 5 Israeli League Championships. Every contest against Maccabi Tel-Aviv is a huge one.

New Club - Hapoel Holon is based in the city Holon of the Tel-Aviv metro district. Head coach Dan Shamir & Manager Pini Gershon (former famous Israeli coach) will attempt to put Holon in a position where they can compete against the best in Israel. In addition to Ron Lewis, Holon's imports include athletic post man Bryant Dunston, forward Tasmin Mitchell of LSU, center Patrick Sullivan, and Dan Grunfeld of Stanford fame. (Roster)

After a slew of preparation games, Holon will close out the pre-season by participating in the Isreali Super Cup Tournament (October 8 through 13) The Israeli Premier League Regular Season begins on October 16.

(-Videos of Lewis in Belgium from last season - Official Mons Mix coming soon!)