Kentucky basketball s Marcpatagonia skywalk mens shoesus Lee has added muscle
UK forward Marcus Lee. Sept. 4, 2014(Photo: Alton Strupp/The Courier Journal)Buy PhotoThere was no better representation of the University of Kentucky basketball team s embarrassment of riches last season than 6 9 forward Marcus Lee, a former McDonald s All American who played in just 25 of the team s 40 games and averaged just 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.3 minutes per game.
If you don t think Lee would ve started or at least played major minutes on just about every other team in the countpatagonia piton hybrid vest reviewry, consider his performance when he got unglued from the bench in the NCAA Tournament s Elite Eight due to Willie Cauley Stein s season ending injury in the Sweet 16.
Lee went off for 10 points, eight rebounds (seven offensive) and two blocks in 15 minutes against Michigan to help send Kentucky to the Final Fpatagonia guide jacket jewelry0our. The high flying Lee, who blocked more than 500 shots in high school, threw down four put back dunks in that game.
ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford projected Lee as a draft pick, on pure potential, had he elected to leave school after last season. Instead, he stayed, and he s bulked up from about 206 pounds last season to a legit 220 heading into this year. He s hopeful coach John Calipari s nepatagonia gift card exchangew two platoon system will feature him more prominently.
RELATED: Q with UK s slimmed down Dakari Johnson.
Lee averaged seven points, 4.5 rebounds and a steal per game in 20.8 minutes during six exhibitions in the Bahamas this summer. He sat patagonia outlet store in freeport mainedown with The Courier Journal to discuss his goals for the 2014 15 season. Here s an excerpt of that conversation:
C J: What kind of difference can 14 pounds of muscle make?
ML: I mean, we re in the SEC. We ve got the biggest big men in the country, so it meant a lot. Playing agaipatagonia guide jacket jewelry3nstpatagonia guide jacket jewelry2 players that are way bigger, that s something that you needed as a big man. I saw that last year. That was something I struggled at, so it s something I really needed.
C J: Testing that new body out against older, professional players in the Bahamas, could you feel the difference?
ML: Yeah, I definitely felt the strength in my body getting better and me being able to use my weight a little more and not get thrown around as much. I saw how much it actually helped my game improve.
The Courier Journal Kyle Tucker sits down one on one with Kentucky sophomore forward Marcus Lee.
C J: Were you surprised you had a chance to be drafted after last season and how did that decision go?
ML: My decision was as quick as anything. We got on the bus after our last game of the year and I was like, There is no chance. I m not leaving. Why would I leave? There wasn t really why would I leave a place like this? I have so many more things I can learn from here and I m not ready to leave.
Tweeting that opatagonia discount code under armourut that I was staying was just something I felt like I needed to do to let people know, because I guess I was tired of people asking. And I was like, Ipatagonia everlong review boost played like two games. Why are people asking me this question?
RELATED: Cauley Stein s return was first UK domino
C J: Was it tough not to play more?
ML: No, because I knew I had to help my team out no matter what I had to do, and if my role was to patagonia everlong review xmenmake sure our bigs were battle tested each practice, then that s what I had to do and kind of what keppatagonia guide jacket jewelry1t me ready to play whenever my number was called.
C J: Is that the same approach this year or do you hope for a patagonia guide jacket and jeansbigger role?
ML: I d like to have a bigger role, but I would just like to help my team no matter what patagonia guide jacket jewelryit is, as long as we re getting better. And that s what we ve been doing this summer: just getting better, being a team, and that s what I love doing.
C J: Is frustration over playing time the one potential poison for this talented team?
ML: I mean, that is a big poisoning to any team, in any sport, so that s kind of one thing we vepatagonia guide pants nursery always talked about is: It s not going to really matter what happens as long as we try to stick together. And that s the one thing we ve learned from last year, that it s going to be really rough with everything going on because we re UK but if we stick together, that s not going to bother us at all. And that s what really helped us.
