Sunday, September 28, 2014

The latest look at Marcus Lee

Below is Josh Riddell/Draft Express with an up-to-date analysis of Marcus Lee:

Coming into the University of Kentucky as the 16th ranked recruit by the RSCI, Marcus Lee had trouble finding minutes in an extremely crowded Wildcat frontcourt, stuck behind Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson. Lee averaged just 6.5 minutes per game last season and saw action in only 25 of 40 total games, an extremely rare occurrence for a player as highly regarded as he was coming out of high school. Taking advantage of an injury to Cauley-Stein, Lee had his best game in the NCAA tournament against Michigan, where he scored ten points and grabbed eight rebounds in fifteen minutes, and will look to build on that momentum to carve out his spot in the rotation this season.

Lee has very good size for a big man prospect, measured at 6'10”, with a solid 7'2” wingspan. However, he needs to add strength to his frame, as he weighed in at 199 pounds two years ago at the Amare Stoudemire Camp and is now listed as being 220 pounds on Kentucky's website, which is still relatively light. It looks like he added some nice bulk to his frame on Kentucky's recent preseason tour in the Bahamas, particularly in the upper body, but he still has plenty of room to continue to add to his frame. He is a great athlete, moving up and down the floor well for a big man while playing above the rim on the offensive end. Once he adds some strength, which he should be able to as he matures physically in the next few years, he will have ample tools to compete in the NBA.

In his limited minutes, Lee didn't show a great deal of offensive skill, as the overwhelming majority of his touches came off cuts, offensive rebounds and by running the floor in transition. He has great potential to do these things at pretty much any level, as his ability to sprint the court, make quick screen and rolls, and get off the ground in the blink of an eye for explosive finishes from a standstill off two feet are coveted commodities in professional basketball. He has good hands, great quickness, and the type of springy vertical leap you'd expect to find in an ex-volleyball player...

Here's the link for the full monty.

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