Just as everyone expected,
Marcus Lee announced his commitment to play basketball for the University of Kentucky, picking the Cats over California. It became apparent that Kentucky was his choice earlier this week when he tweeted how much he loved his visit to Big Blue Madness, and then canceled his visit to Cal, which was scheduled for this weekend.
Lee is the fifth member of Kentucky's 2013 recruiting class and the fourth commitment in less than a month.
A little bit about him...
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MARCUS LEE
6’9”
200 lbs.
Antioch, California
Deer Park High School
Rivals.com: No. 15 player overall, No. 5 power forward
ESPN Recruiting: No. 28 in the ESPN Top 100
Scout.com: No. 38 player overall, No. 2 center
ESPN Recruiting Report…
Strengths:
This is one of those players that, from a scouting perspective, gets you excited and tests your ability to see value over a long term. Lee is an electric athlete, the kind that runs the floor with grace and finishes with length and explosion. There's an air of Derrick Williams in his game. Like Williams, he's a bit of a late bloomer but unlike Williams, he bloomed pre-senior season. He's active at the rim and swats shots. Inside the lane, if he shakes free he'll try and dunk. Can face and go.
Weaknesses:
One of the main things holding him back is strength; he doesn't have any. Has a tendency to get pushed out of position in the post. Typically is a good finisher but when he struggles it's with contact. Perimeter game is lacking and all he really needs is mid-range stuff. He's smack in the middle of prospect and player which normally wouldn't be a good thing but given his developmental timeline it's not a problem.
Bottom Line:
Opinions will vary on him but most will place him amongst the top 20-50 players in the country. We're being slightly aggressive with his ranking and projection because of the athletic traits, IQ on the floor and we're seeing him hit markers. There's no middle ground for a guy like this. He either fully gets it and becomes a bonafide star or he's stuck in prospect mode and just gets by. We're banking that his rate of improvement continues and Lee develops -- as a senior or FR in college -- into one of the top forwards in the class.
Scout.com Recruiting Report…
Marcus Lee is an athletic center who possesses very high upside due to his length and athleticism. At this stage of his career, Lee specializes as a shot blocker and rebounder. Offensively he's raw and will have to work on his footwork, post moves and continue to grow comfortable with his left hand. Added strength will also help his offense. Regardless, he's a very good post prospect who will be recruited at a high level due to his upside.
Welcome aboard.
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