The last two years have been a whirlwind of fun for Allen Lewis, who has rode the roller coaster of a state championship redemption arc with Columbus’ boys basketball team as an assistant coach into a brand new and exciting first-time opportunity.
After helping the Falcons capture the 2026 Class 5A state championship, Lewis, a 2016 graduate of Columbus High, was selected as the head coach in the Northeast Mississippi Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game. The game, slated for June 6 at Booneville High School, features some of the top basketball talent from around the state. After only two years as a basketball coach, Lewis finds himself at the epicenter of it all, tasked with leading one of the units in his first varsity head-coaching opportunity.
It’s an offer he called a “real blessing.”
“It’s a big opportunity for me, for the community of Columbus, just to have somebody from Columbus to represent us not only just like in high school but at the national level – like an all-star game level,” Lewis said.
Stepping into an assistant coaching role in the 2024-2025 season was Lewis’ first basketball coaching opportunity, and he immediately found himself hard at work trying to help an already talented unit climb to the mountain top. He set up and ran drills with the team, led the dissection of film studies on upcoming foes and even helped keep tabs on opposing players during games to curate offensive and defensive adjustments during games. It’s been a lot to do but has also served as a crash course in coaching under head coach Phillip Morris.
“I really enjoy it because it really helps me grow as a coach and know what to look for more in games and stuff like that,” he said. “So when in certain situations I know what to look for and things we can do to put ourselves in a good position to win games. Also, if we are losing a game, I know what to look for and I know and understand how to break it down to the guys.”
“He’s a very enthusiastic young guy,” Morris said of Lewis. “He’s got a lot of energy, he’s always willing to work and do whatever you ask him to do to try and get better as a coach or helping the program. It’s great having him around and it’s great to see him be able to have the opportunity. He loves this type of stuff, so for him to get this opportunity is great.”
In Lewis’ first season with Columbus the Falcons dominated during the regular season, winning all 11 Region 2-6A games, but ran into rough waters in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A state tournament and lost 56-51 to Olive Branch. It was a stunning defeat to a squad that believed it could win it all, but didn’t dampen their expectations for the following season.
Lewis and the Falcons dropped down to Class 5A and embarked on another rampage through the regular season with another perfect 10-0 run in Region 1-5A games. They continued the war parth in the postseason and capped the year off with a 52-38 beatdown of Holmes County Central in the 5A state championship game to win the program’s first title since 2018.
Lewis said it was a wild ride but one he wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
“It’s just a crazy journey man,” he said. … “One thing that helped us get there, I tell my young guys all the time ‘You have a team that plays together.’ A lot of those guys on that team didn’t care about who was scoring. They didn’t care about how many points somebody had, they just cared about Columbus winning and the other team losing.”
During the state championship run in the 2025-2026 season, Lewis also was given his first head coaching opportunity with the Falcons’ junior varsity team. He led the squad to a 15-4 record and a quarterfinal win before the tournament was canceled due to inclement weather.
When he stands back and looks at how far he’s already come in such a short career, it’s a feeling of deep appreciation. Before coaching and teaching the game basketball became the main operative in Lewis’ life, his early athletic career was shaped by a different ball – soccer.
He starred on the Falcons’ boys soccer team during his high school days and then went to East Mississippi Community College for schooling. Soccer then found a way back in his life a little bit later down the road when he transferred to MUW and walked on as a member of the team for the 2023-2024. During that time he picked up coaching basketball at the Columbus YMCA. Pretty soon after he was coaching some AAU basketball games and then managed to get on staff at Columbus as a team manager and practice “camera guy” and worked his way up.
“A crazy journey, man,” he said.
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