COLLEGE STATION, Texas ā Kaden Lewis plays an important role on the A&M Consolidated boys basketball team.
He's a high energy player off the bench that can change the game in an instant. He's one of the most electrifying players on the court, which is hard to imagine after what happened to him this summer.
Lewis was at John Crompton Park on July 27 when he was hit with a stray bullet that pierced his lung. He was taken to St. Joseph's hospital in critical condition. The bullet was fired into a crowd after a man and his girlfriend got into an altercation. As Lewis describes it, he was in the right spot at the wrong time.
"I thought somebody shot me with a water bottle but then I looked and saw a hole in my shoulder and ran for the woods," he says.
Doctors said it would be a six month recovery for Lewis. The Tigers guard was back on the court in three, thanks to the constant motivation from his teammates and coaches. Lewis went to physical therapy while also doing extra work during athletic periods at school.
The Consol guard wears a padded shirt underneath his jersey now to protect his ribcage, but other than that, he's back to being the same type of player we was prior to the accident.
"His nature on the court, being able to attack, create, get to the rim, being explosive," Consol head coach Andrew Daily says. "That's still the same Kaden."
Lewis says he still struggles a bit with certain dribble moves and his jumper, but expects to be back to 100-percent by the time the playoffs roll around.
"Once I'm able to drive, just go dunk on somebody, it'll open everything up," Lewis says. "They'll want to collapse on me in the paint and I can kick it out to the open shot."
A&M Consolidated is currently 15-5 and a perfect 4-0 in district play so far this year.