Longhorns guard Julian Lewis to transfer to Fresno State

Fox 26 in Houston reported late Thursday that Texas guard Julian Lewis was set to leave Austin and transfer to Fresno State, in order to play for former Longhorns assistant and current Bulldogs head coach Rodney Terry.

Lewis, a 6-foot-3 guard from Galveston, was UT's third-leading scorer in his first full season, averaging over 11 points per game. On the heels of losing Kevin Olekaibe to UNLV because of family health concerns, coach Terry was enthusiastic about the athlete who will take his place. He told Fresno Bee reporter Robert Kuwada that:

He's a proven guy. I think for us, any time you can go out and get a Julien Lewis to come in and be a part of your program for 2014, I mean, the Mountain West Conference, we had the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, and to go out and get a guy at that level, that would be the equivalent in the Mountain West of going out and getting that McDonald's All-American.

It's highly-competitive. It's hard to go out and get a guy at that level as a high school player. It's hard for a lot of schools, not just us, but for a lot of top programs to go get a top guy that is a high school guy. But now we have a proven guy that is on that level right now. Julien Lewis is a proven guy.

Per NCAA transfer rules, Lewis will not play for the Bulldogs in 2013-14, but will have two years of eligibility left after this season.