John Marshall 6-foot-1 guard Jestin Lewis, one of the most dynamic playmakers on the hardwood in both the Central Region and the state, has found at home at the next level. He will continue playing basketball at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama.

Ranked the #35 prospect in the state from the Class of 2012 by VirginiaPreps.com, Lewis transferred from Henrico to John Marshall before his senior season. He was named the Colonial District Player of the Year this past season for the Justices and MVP of the Times-Dispatch Invitational Tournament.

"We're very excited to have Jestin become apart of our program here. As a player, he's someone that comes in having tasted a great amount of success and brings leadership. With his athleticism, I feel he's going to be able to play multiple roles for us, has a really good mid-range game, gets to the basket well, is a solid shooter from the 3 and is a guy that can be a lockdown defender on the perimeter for us. Not to mention, he's someone that wants to guard the other team's best player," stated Wallace CC Head Coach John Meeks.

"He's an unbelievable kid, too. I got to meet with him at the school and you marveled at the relationships he had with the Principal at the school, other administrators, people that would come up and hug him. To transfer from Henrico and gain that relationship with people at John Marshall in a year, to me it shows how good of a kid he is. Plus, he's a heck of a player, too when you consider he was an All-State level player and wasn't even the leading scorer on his team."

Lewis was also chosen Honorable Mention All-State and First Team All-Central Region. On the year, he averaged 19.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.5 steals per game while shooting 51.2% from the field and making 35 three-pointers. Lewis converted 96 of 131 free-throw attempts and scored over 20 points on 15 different occasions for a Justices team that finished 24-4 overall, 16-0 in district play.

Meeks has had success landing players from Virginia in the past, even going back to when was the Head Coach at Louisburg Junior College in North Carolina. Lewis becomes the second Virginia player in the Class of 2012 for Wallace CC, joining Woodside forward Najee Davis.

Wallace State is coming off an up-and-down season in 2011-12, concluding at 20-17 overall. Although they went 2-10 in conference play, Wallace ended up winning the region tournament as a last place seed, prevailing in four games in four days with just eight players. In Lewis, they see a player who can have an immediate impact.

"We try not to talk about who's going to start and who's not going to start, but that being said, I see him playing a very integral role and I think he's got a chance to start right away for us," Meeks believes.

"With what he can do on the court offensively and defensively, and the fact that he's played at such a high level, he should put himself in that mix right away. It's going to be very tough to keep him off the floor."

Matthew Hatfield serves as State Basketball Analyst for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network. Check out Hatfield's Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don't forget to listen to him on the VirginiaPreps.com Hour every Tuesday at 6PM on ESPN Radio 94.1 plus watch him on the Cox 11 Sports Report.