When Damion Lee decided to spend a post-graduate year at St. Thomas More in Connecticut, the Calvert Hall alum had two primary goals in mind: become a more college-ready player, and find a Division I program that was an ideal fit for him.
Lee quickly accomplished his first objective by emerging as one of the top prep school players in the country. On Friday, he completed his second goal by committing to Drexel.
"It feels great," Lee said Friday. "I'm happy with my decision and I'm glad that I can have some stress relieved from my shoulders."
The 6-foot-6, 195-pound wing chose the Dragons over offers from East Carolina, La Salle, Loyola Marymount, Northeastern, TCU, Tulane and Valparaiso.
Lee, who originally signed with Towson in November 2010, was an integral part of the senior-laden Cardinals team that won the Baltimore Catholic League tournament championship one year ago. After deciding against joining the Tigers, Lee spent the following summer playing with D.C. Assault on the AAU circuit. He then settled on St. Thomas More – a traditional New England Preparatory School Athletic Council powerhouse – as his next destination. Playing for the Chancellors couldn't have gone much better.
"I can say this was the best learning basketball year of my life," Lee said. "My IQ has risen, my game has gotten a lot better. I'm very confident now. When I go on the court, I know who I am, [and] I know what I'm capable of. I'm very cerebral with my game. I play hard. I don't even care about any rankings or anything. You have to play the game in order to win the game."
Lee led St. Thomas More to a 30-7 record and the national prep championship. He earned first-team all-conference honors and was named his team's MVP – an especially noteworthy honor considering center Andre Drummond, the top-ranked player nationally in the 2012 class, was a teammate.
"Every practice and every game was a high-level DI-caliber of play," Lee said. "I think that Calvert Hall definitely prepared me for this, but I feel like this prepared me even more for college. I learned a lot from Coach [Jere] Quinn and it just helped me a lot playing against high-level competition day in and day out, playing against major Division I players throughout the country."
Drexel discovered Lee during an open gym early in the fall. The Dragons eventually signed another wing, so Lee wasn't sure if his chance to play for the Colonial Athletic Association school had passed. But after a brief period of minimal communication, the Dragons ramped up their pursuit of Lee once again.
"It was the school I felt the most comfortable with," said Lee, who also received interest from Clemson and DePaul. "It was just the decision I arrived at. It's a homey atmosphere and not that far from my mom. I'm looking to be close to my family. I didn't want to be too far from there."
Drexel – located a little more than two hours away in Philadelphia from Lee's Owings Mills home – went 21-10 this season, falling in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament on a buzzer beater against VCU.
Lee said he's excited to join a top-flight mid-major program. He's confident that his time at St. Thomas More – which he views as his "unofficial freshman year of college" – will serve him well with the Dragons.
"They just say if I come in and play defense, then I have a chance to be on the court," Lee said. "The coach didn't promise anything, but I know with my work ethic and attitude that I'm not going to settle for anything less. I'm going to do what it takes to be on the court."
Baltimore Sun photo of Damion Lee by Gene Sweeney Jr. / Jan. 22, 2010