Every athlete has the dream of representing their country at the international level, not to mention winning a gold medal.

Sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. was able to fulfill both during his time representing the United States in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Greece this past summer. The United States team went undefeated during its gold medal run by defeating New Zealand, Lithuania twice, Senegal, Latvia, Russia and then Mali in the championship game.

“It’s something I’ll never forget,” Lewis said. “Not a lot of people get to play for their country and win a gold medal. So [the medal] is something I will look at with my grandkids as I get older because it was a great accomplishment.”

Saturday’s matchup of Alabama and Kansas State in Tuscaloosa will feature a reunion between Lewis and Wildcats head coach Bruce Weber, who coached the gold medal-winning U19 team.

The selection process for the World Cup team is an arduous one that features three different cuts. First, 32 of the best players in the country under the age of 19 were invited to attend the USA Basketball Team training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. After three days of training, Weber and his staff cut the roster to 18; two days later, they finalized the team’s 12-player roster.

“For him to make the team is a special accomplishment,” Weber said. “I hope he feels proud of it — being part of a gold medal-winning program for U.S. basketball. I hope that’s a special memory that he will be proud of for life. I know I am proud to be a part of that.”

It was not the first time Lewis had been among some of the best youth players in the USA.

Prior to attending the University of Alabama, Lewis participated in the 2018 U18 training camp for the FIBA Americas U18 championship, but he was cut after the initial three days of training. He used the omission as motivation to not be left off another national team.

“[Leading up to training camp], Kira was in the gym two to three hours a day on his own outside of practice,” said assistant coach Bryan Hodgson, who traveled to Greece with Lewis. “I knew leading up to training camp that it was going to be tough for those guys to cut this kid with the way he had worked.”

During his time in Greece, Lewis did not get the 37 minutes per game that he gets as a member of the Crimson Tide.

In seven games, he had the third-fewest minutes per game on the team with 10.3. He added 4.0 points per game and 1.7 assists per game.

“As a [part of the] team, I wasn’t looking at it as I wasn’t getting minutes,” Lewis said. “When I didn’t get minutes or when I did get minutes, I just did whatever I could to help my teammates out. We all had the same goal, which was to win a gold medal. You can’t really complain about it because you got 11 other guys that are the best in the country.”

Even though Lewis’ playing time was scarce at some points, he displayed his potential when given the opportunity. During the 102-67 semifinals win over Lithuania, Lewis scored 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting from the field, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc while adding three rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes. Against Latvia in the round of 16, he finished with 10 points while shooting 2 of 4 from the 3-point line.

“He showed that he could compete with not only the best players in the U.S., but the best players in the world,” Weber said. “When we asked him to step up, he really did… He’s an explosive athlete, he can get up the court and he’s a good shooter. I hope the experience benefitted him and it will help him become an even better player down the road.”