October 22, 2015
After being under-recruited for the better part of the last year-and-a-half, Hoover forward Nate Lee has started to see some interest come his way, and he’s ready to make a commitment — he needs an offer first though.
The 6-foot-4 small forward is hearing from Midwest NAIAs and area Division III programs, and says he’d like to make a college decision before his senior season gets underway.
“The main level I’m hearing from is NAIA, like William Penn and Governors State (IL). And then some Division III schools like Simpson, Knox (IL), and Crown College too in Minnesota. I’ve heard a little bit from Minot State, they said they’d be coming up to a couple of my games,” said Lee.
“Really I just want to get on some visits and try and catch some coaches eyes, I’ll be going to a ScoutsFocus camp and hopefully I can get some exposure there. I really don’t want to have to go into my senior season worrying about where I’ll be going, I just want to focus on getting us a state championship. If I do get an offer before the season starts, I’m most likely going to commit.”
Lee was once again playing with an ultra-talented Kingdom Hoops Elite squad this offseason, and says his perimeter game is what improved the most.
“I think my biggest improvement with Kingdom Hoops was my 3-point shot, I was playing with a little more confidence on the perimeter and also whenever I got a rebound on the perimeter I would just go,” said Lee, who will be a key leader and scorer for one of the state’s best programs this season at Hoover.
“This year I’ll be the first guy we go to on our team when we need a bucket, and I probably will be on the perimeter a little more often,” said Lee. “It’s my senior year, so my teammates trust me, and any time we need a bucket I’ll be the first option.”
April 28, 2015
By trushing
As he sinks his teeth into his 17U season with Kingdom Hoops Elite, Nate Lee looks to become one of the under-recruited 2016s to catch the eyes of some college coaches.
With plenty of time this offseason to still make his mark on the recruiting scene, Lee realizes his talent (mid-range specialist, wing and post skills set), and says if he’s patient, everything will work out.
“I’m very excited because I know that I’m good and talented so I know I’ll get some attention,” said Lee, a 6-foot-4 forward. “I just have to be patient and accept my role like I did this season at Hoover.”
Accepting his role is something Lee has become accustomed to. An ideal teammate, Lee says he sacrificed some offensive production this season because he knew it would aid his team in making it to Wells Fargo Arena for the state tournament — and it did.
“That was my biggest challenge, was accepting my role,” said Lee. “Because I knew I could do more but I had to take on a smaller role, but I knew if I accepted my role it would be better.”
“Offensively I stayed patiently aggressive and I took shots that were good shots for me and for the team, even if I missed them, it’s still a good shot shot. It wasn’t bad shots, I wasn’t trying to show-boat or anything, my coach trusted me to take certain shots at certain points of the game and if I missed it was OK, because it was the stuff we worked on.”
Lee has mastered the 15-foot mid-range jumper — he’s most prolific from the baseline — and says it’s something that came naturally to him.
“I developed that but it didn’t take that long, I just have a soft touch, especially around the corner and that’s the kind of shot I’m talking about, and my teammates would always tell me to shoot it,” said Lee, who says he’ll likely play some guard and wing at the next level.
“I’ll probably have to end up playing a guard or a wing position, at Hoover we’re just small, so that’s the role I had to take,” he said. “So I was comfortable with it, even though there was big height differences at times.”
August 25, 2014
By trushing
Des Moines Hoover’s 6-foot-4 forward Nate Lee is one of many starters returning from last year’s mildly successful 12-9 squad.
Lee averaged 6.2 points and 6.2 rebounds last season as a sophomore and he along with sophomore forward Douglas Wilson will be the tallest guys on an undersized team.
The junior prospect says becuase of its lack of size, it’ll be key for he and his Huskies to stay in front of their men defensively.
“We have to keep people out of the lane,” said Lee. “Some teams think they are going to pound it inside, so we just have to keep them out of the lane and use our speed, and use that to our advantage.”
With the departure of All-Conference forward Malachi Canada, the Huskies will have 14.6 points and 10.2 rebounds to account for this season.
Lee says he can fill that void.
“My workload is going to increase a lot,” said Lee. “This year we have to account for 15 points since Malachi left, I know I’ll probably have to get at least 10 points and 10 rebounds; that’s my goal”
Lee says he’s a versatile player that can score in many ways, it just depends on who is guarding him.
“If somebody is guarding me that’s bigger I can use my speed and my perimeter speed to score. And if there’s somebody that’s quicker, I can use my post-up game to score on them,” said Lee.
“I have guard skills, but I got to get better at shooting and handling the ball a little bit, but I can play guard and forward, so I’d say I’m a wing/forward.”
The 2016 prospect says he’s that versatile on his Kingdom Hoops Red squad as well.
“If they had a bigger guard I would guard them, and I would rebound and score when I needed too, when I came off the bench I would be a presence inside and rebound and score and I always guarded the other teams' better players”
Although he’s a 2016 prospect, Lee and his Kingdom Hoops Red teammates all played up in 17U tournaments this off-season.
He says his overall game improved, and he just wanted to get better all-around.
“I improved on my ball-handling a lot. I can handle the ball really well now compared to what I used to be able to do, and shooting, and defense too, especially my timing,” said Lee.
“I just worked on everything really, everything I can already do I tried to get better at. And some other things like playing hard and keeping a high motor.”
As of right now the junior forward says he hasn’t heard anything from college coaches.
“I don't know if my AAU coach or high school coach has talked to any coaches,” said Lee. “If they have I’m not aware.”
