June 30, 2010
Lee is a Thunderbird
Demetrius Lee has made his decision. The high-jumping No. 17 ranked prepster in NorCalPrep’s 2010 rankings, Lee is headed out of state to a school most of us aren’t familiar with but one with a solid basketball history.
It took a while to develop but now Lee is becoming a Casper (Wyoming) College Thunderbird. He had other options locally and regionally, plus an offer from Salt Lake City College but it was Casper that resonated the most. "I liked the college and the coaches when I visited," Lee explained. "Most of all, I liked what they had to offer," which includes plenty of playing time to be earned and a full scholarship ride.
What seemingly cinched the deal was Lee’s desire "to go away for college." Casper meets that aim, being situated in central Wyoming. Just under 50,00 people reside there.
As for the program he is joining, Casper College basketball is also noted as being the ‘Big Show’ in town and program boosters, besides bringing the noise, are also involved in acting as host families for athletes. Every Thunderbird game is broadcast on radio.
The 6-foot-3 backcourter will be at a school that finished 22-8 this past season, losing in the Region IX playoffs. The basketball history is laudatory, including 12 regional championships and seven top ten National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) finishes plus 60 basketballers moving on to the D-1 ranks.
The sense that Lee has from the Casper coaching staff is "I’ll be playing as a shooting guard" but he is hoping to also be spending time at the point. The plan now is to spend a single season as a T-Bird and then re-open his recruiting.
Former Vanden High star Cornell Littlejohn previously played at Casper College.
"I want to thank my mother and father for all their support in making this happen, plus [St. Mary’s] Coach [Manny] Nodar and family friend Aalim Moor II," Lee said.
This past season, St. Mary’s reached the state title game before being turned back by Price of Los Angeles. Lee is looking to help get the Thunderbirds out of Region IX and into the national tournament.