USA Basketball Announcement  (Photo above by USA Basketball)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Slippery Rock University alumnus Joe Lewandowski '99 was named Thursday as head coach of the 2024 USA Men's Basketball 3x3 Olympic Team for the upcoming summer games in Paris.
 
Lewandowski, who has been coaching and advising the USA Basketball 3x3 program since 2014, will lead a team of men making its 3x3 Olympic debut as the sport prepares for its second appearance in the Olympics.
 

A 3x3 pioneer, soon to be coaching on the biggest stage 🇺🇸 @coachJoeLew is up to the task. pic.twitter.com/AAJ9WSKT2I

— USA Basketball 3x3 (@usab3x3) February 8, 2024

 
"There is no greater honor than representing your country and wearing USA across your chest at the Olympic Games," Lewandowski said. "This is incredibly humbling. I am beyond blessed and thankful for the opportunity to represent USA Basketball in Paris this summer."

A 1999 Slippery Rock graduate with a degree in secondary education, Lewandowski was honored by USA Basketball earlier this year with the 3x3 Coach of the Year recognition for the men's team.
 
That honor came after Lewandowski led Team USA in qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris after serving as the 2023 3x3 Men's National Team head coach during the FIBA World Cup and the Pan American Games as well as the leader of Team Miami during the FIBA 3x3 Men's World Tour.
 
Over the last decade, Lewandowski has worked 17 separate coaching assignments in international competition for both the men's and women's programs, resulting in a combined six gold and silver medals.
 
Most recently, he led the roster of Jimmer Fredette, Canyon Barry, Kareem Maddox and Dylan Travis to gold medal honors at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
 
Prior to embarking on his coaching journey, Lewandowski was a standout athlete who began his collegiate playing career at Butler County Community College, where he was a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American.
 
Lewandowski transferred to Slippery Rock prior to the 1995-96 season following the completion of his career at BC3 and proceeded to start 47 of 50 games over the next two years. At SRU, he averaged 12.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and playing 32.1 minutes per game.
 
A two-time Slippery Rock team captain, Lewandowski also earned academic all-region honors for his performance in the classroom while at SRU. After exhausting his collegiate eligibility, he played professionally in Denmark before entering the coaching ranks.
 
Since the conclusion of his playing career, Lewandowski has been a coaching fixture locally on the club, high school and college levels in addition to his growing role within USA Basketball.
 
A former head coach at both Butler and Deer Lakes High School, Lewandowski also served as the head men's basketball coach at Point Park University for four seasons from 2018-22 before moving on to become the head coach at Butler County Community College.
 
In his first season at BC3 a year ago, Lewandowski led the Pioneers to a 20-4 record, a Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference Tournament title and a Region 20 championship on the way to being ranked seventh in the year-end NJCAA rankings. For his efforts, Lewandowski was named the WPCC Coach of the Year.
 
A lifelong educator, Lewandowski is also an English teacher at Butler Senior High School.
 
The 2024 Paris Olympics begin July 26, with 3x3 basketball competition scheduled to run July 30-Aug. 5 at historic Place de la Concorde.
 
2024 marks the second Olympics in which 3x3 basketball will be part of the Olympic Program and, thanks in part to Lewandowski's efforts on the sidelines, the first in which the United States men's team has qualified.
 
Different than traditional 5x5 basketball, the 3x3 game is played on a half-court with a 10-minute game clock and 12-second shot clock. Play is continuous, as teams "clear" the ball behind the 2-point line following a made basket, defensive rebound or steal. The first team to score 21 points via 1-point field goals or 2-pointers behind the arc is victorious; or if time expires then the team leading wins.
 
Lewandowski will be the second Slippery Rock alumnus to coach for Team USA in the last two Summer Olympics after former track & field standout and 1982 graduate Gary Aldrich served as the men's throws coach for the USA Track & Field team at the 2021 games in Tokyo.
 
 


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