AC’s Lee signs with Towson

December 31, 2007 02:05 pm

— CUMBERLAND — Deciding to sign early with the school that has shown the most interest, Allegany College of Maryland center Calvin Lee will be continuing his career next season at Towson University.
The 6-foot-7, 200-pound sophomore from Etrick, Va. has signed an NCAA Letter-of-intent to play for the Tigers, who compete as a Division I school in the Colonial Athletic Conference.
Lee joins 5-10 point guard Troy Franklin from Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Baltimore as early signees for Towson coach Pat Kennedy.
“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Troy Franklin and Calvin Lee,” said Kennedy. “Both players are very talented and will fit into our program and style of play right away. These two young men will add a significant presence to our 2008-09 team.”
Lee entered his second season at Allegany as a third-team NJCAA Pre-season All-American after earning first-team all-Region XX honors last year when he helped lead the Trojans to a 24-9 record and a third straight Region XX title. He averaged 14.9 points and led the team in rebounding with a 9.6 average.
“Calvin is an excellent athlete who has great offensive skills to go along with his ability as a strong rebounder,” said Kennedy. “He comes from a junior college program that has a rich tradition and has prepared him well for the CAA. He is multi-talented and will fit in very well with our front-court players.”
Lee chose Towson over offers from several other Division I schools.
“I thought Towson was the best place for me to go for my basketball future,” said Lee. “They have been on me for awhile and showed me the most interest. I really like the school.”
The sophomore center also thinks Towson will be a place where he can contribute right away.
“I think it will be the right fit,” said Lee. “They have good coaches and in my visit I got along with the players well.”
Allegany coach Mike Baker is pleased that Lee made Towson his choice.
“I believe it will be a great fit for both,” said Baker. “Calvin is an athletic player who can go inside or move out and hit the jumper. Calvin has not yet reached his potential and with Towson on the rise both will benefit. The Towson coaching staff needs to be commended on the professional manner in which Calvin was recruited.”
Having already signed, Lee said he can now stay more focused on helping Allegany (4-8) turn things around in the second half of the season.
“I’m working harder this season and trying to play hard every game,” said Lee. “I still see a lot of upside on this team. We played nationally-ranked teams and were close but just didn’t finish. I think we are going to keep getting better and we want to peak at the right time and get to the national tournament. Last year we had an opportunity and came one game short.”
After the first 12 games, Lee was second on the team in scoring with a 15.4 average and was leading in rebounds with 9.9 per game.
Lee was a three-year starter at Matoaca High School and was a two-time Virginia Class AAA Central District Player of the Year along with receiving second-team Richmond All-Metro and All-Region honors as a senior. He averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks a game his senior year and finished with 1,019 career points.

Photos

Calvin Lee

Calvin Lee Cumberland Times-News