Salisbury Guard Heading to MAAC
Salisbury School's K.J. Lee committed to Marist College on Sunday while on campus for his official visit.
“I chose Marist because the basketball program is on the rise and the campus is in a great location," Lee said. "The people I met were all nice and friendly, and my family will be able to watch me play."
Lee also noted head coach Jeff Bower and his fifteen years of NBA experience.
"The coaching staff is new and each coach has a very impressive resume. They will be able to make me a better player,” he said. “Next year’s team will have a strong group of seniors, so I think we can win a league championship.”
The six-foot-four combo-guard was named Class A Honorable Mention last year after averaging 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.0 assits while leading Salisbury to a 17-8 record and a spot in the NEPSAC Class A tournament. He followed that up with a strong summer on the AAU circuit with the Westchester Hawks and an impressive performance at the Hoop Group Elite Camp.
Prior to arriving at Salisbury, Lee sparked Long Island Lutheran to the 2012 New York State Championship, earning all-tournament honrs in the process. He was also selected first team all-Nassau County, second team all-Long Island, and third team all-state.
While Lee's success at Lutheran landed him on the division I radar, he soon found many coaches backing off because of his questionable jump-shot and inability to play the point guard position. To his credit, he spent the year at Salisbury working on his jumper while also solidifying his reputation for being a lockdown defender and dangerous slasher.
“Coach [Jeff] Ruskin believed in me the most and helped me fix my shot and [former assistant] Coach [Anthony] Goins was always tough on me. I wouldn’t have had a D1 scholarship without them,” Lee said.
Now, Marist has landed a big guard who combines strength and quickness alike in order to be a true three-range scoring threat who can play both on and off the ball at the next level.
K.J. Lee