Prospect Spotlight: William Lee (2020)

Coming to a new program is difficult in itself as you have to learn a new system, get acclimated with the new staff and teammates and get used to a new school and classes. It’s even more difficult when you have to change from one of the biggest city in the United States in New York City to rural Virginia where you don’t even get a signal on your phone.

That’s what happened with Blue Ridge junior guard William Lee, who transferred to the boarding school in the mountains outside of Charlottesville from Queens in New York City.

“The transition has been very different because in Queens it’s in the heart of the city and everything is country out here,” Lee said with a chuckle. “Coming out here was a big change, I was stressed out and I was actually losing a lot of sleep at first. However, I came here to help my grades and become a better student, so that’s been my number one priority since I’ve been out here. It was definitely different though because everything in New York is so fast paced compared to out here in rural Virginia.”

It took a while for him to get used to things, but as the season went on you could see the 5’10” guard get more comfortable both on and off the court. After a slow start, Lee became the Barons’ spark plug off the bench with his ability to score it in bunches quickly and cause havoc on the defensive end with his ability to stay in front and shoot the gap to force turnovers.

Lee said a lot of it had to do with his coaches trusting him and putting him in the right positions to succeed.

“My confidence level got better throughout the season,” Lee said. “Coach Cade [Lemcke] has made me become a defensive player on the defensive end and that has really changed my game and motivated me and made me become a more confident and better player.”

It wasn’t just off the court changes he had to get used to, he had to get used to playing in the VISAA, where there are a few things much different than his league in NYC.

“In New York City we play with a shot clock, and that’s one of the biggest differences to me so far. A shot clock will speed you up and force players into making bad decisions, where here you can take your time and if a play doesn’t work out you don’t have to do something silly or try to make a play you can just reset it and run plays over and over again.”

At just about 5’10”, Lee isn’t the biggest guy but he has good quickness that he uses on both ends, he’s a strong guy with a good base and he can shoot from deep. The attention to detail that he has picked up at Blue Ridge has made him a better player, especially on the defensive end and when it comes to staying under control when trying to make plays for others.

“I have become much more of a controlled player since I’ve been here. I play with better pace, I’m making better decisions and just being more under control when I have the ball. As of right now, I’ve become much more of a defensive player since I’ve been here and I don’t worry about offense nearly as much because I know that will come. I just know I need to lock up my defender, stay in his jersey and do whatever I can to stay on the floor because I know that’s what keeps me out there.”

Lee was a key to their state championship run, and when he comes back he’ll play on the ball more often than not with reigning VISAA D2 POY Chris Rogers graduating from the point guard spot. While he isn’t a household name yet, expect Lee to be a breakout guy at Blue Ridge next year, as they always have a senior point guard who makes a name for himself in their system.