Change of plans for Calvert Hall's Damion Lee
Instead of suiting up for Towson’s basketball team next fall, Calvert Hall forward Damion Lee will delay college for a year.
Lee, a 6-foot-5, 195-pound senior who signed with the Tigers last November, has decided to attend prep school and pick a new school for next year.
“He felt that he didn't want to go to college in the same town he grew up in,” said Calvert Hall coach John Bauersfeld. “[The Towson coaches] were disappointed, but they handled it well. They were very understanding with Damion and don't have any ill feelings toward the kid at all.”
Lee, who is fully qualified academically, has narrowed his prep school choices to St. Thomas More in Oakdale, Conn., and the Winchendon (Mass.) School. He’ll graduate from Calvert Hall next month and has plans to keep busy this summer.
“He's playing for D.C. Assault's 17-and-under team with [DeMatha point guard] Quinn Cook and a lot of other really good guys,” Bauersfeld said. “He'll get a lot of good exposure there. I think he's hoping to play in a bigger conference.”
College programs can’t contact Lee -- a Baltimore Sun second-team All-Metro selection -- until Sept. 1 when his letter of intent to Towson expires.
Cardinals forward Donya Jackson, the reigning two-time Baltimore Catholic League Defensive Player of the Year, will also spent next year at prep school.
Jackson is headed to Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy in the fall before enrolling at the Naval Academy in the summer of 2011. Bauersfeld said it’s “pretty standard operating procedure for a lot of” Navy athletes to attend prep school before matriculating to Annapolis.
“That's been on the table since Day 1, since he verbally committed,” Bauersfeld said. “And he understands that he's taking a year to get himself better prepared academically to go to the Academy. He's not down or depressed about that in any way.”
Calvert Hall’s three other senior starters are also firming up their college plans. Cameron Cook, a 6-foot-4 small forward, will play at Hood College. Point guard Kyle Wise has plans to visit St. Mary’s College soon. Wise is also hearing from Stevenson.
Jonathan Graham, meanwhile, has “narrowed it down to a couple Division I schools and will make a decision in the next few weeks,” Bauersfeld said.
Graham, a 6-foot-8 forward and three-star prospect according to Rivals.com, averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds for the BCL-champion Cardinals.
Baltimore Sun photo of Damion Lee by Gene Sweeney Jr. / Jan. 22, 2010
Comments
It would sure be nice to see Jonathan Graham wearing a Terp uniform next year. Solid competition and academics .. great combination!
Posted by: GregA | May 5, 2010 10:18 PM