imsoblue
04-21-2013, 03:50 PM
ANTIOCH, CALIF. —
When Marcus Lee was a child, his mother, Sheri, sat him down and was honest about the family’s financial situation. A single parent who worked for a long-term care facility, she wanted Marcus to understand that sometimes she might not be able to buy the toy he wanted.
Marcus understood. When his mother suggested they go out for a meal, he often said they should stay in and save the money. And when he enrolled at Deer Valley High School in this sleepy city 50 miles east of San Francisco, he thought the only way to afford college was to earn a scholarship.
He was 6 feet 2 then, and while basketball was an option, it was certainly not a guarantee. So he also joined the volleyball team. And worked out with the water polo team. And tried to bowl.
One afternoon best friend Jeffrey Brown called and asked him why he was out of breath. He asked if something was wrong.
“But he was just at school, randomly practicing with the track team,” Brown recalled, smiling and shaking his head.
It was one more possible route to college, one more way to help his mother. Marcus, whose parents are divorced, never told his mother his reason for trying so many sports, so many possibilities. When it was relayed to her last month, she became emotional.
“I’m surprised and awed to hear that,” Sheri Lee said. “It makes me very proud to know he was being so selfless.”
Today, of course, it’s obvious Marcus Lee did not need to worry about track or volleyball or water polo. He’s a high-flying 6-9 forward who is one of the top high school basketball players in the nation. And this fall he will be part of a University of Kentucky freshman class that is widely being hailed as the greatest ever.
An uncommon star
Lee’s story veers from the more traditional paths of other McDonald’s All Americans. He has not spent his life shuffling around the country from one major AAU tournament to another. Colleges have not been swooning over him since he was 14.
He’s a skinny, laid-back California kid, a former middle school class president who once gave his sneakers to a teammate who didn’t have any. He rarely watches basketball on television and cannot identify many famous players. A technology buff, he thought until recently that working for Apple would be preferable to playing in the NBA.
more (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130420/COLUMNISTS02/304200138/1002/Marcus-Lee-knew-he-needed-scholarship-he-tried-many-roads-before-Kentucky-basketball-recruiters-called)
When Marcus Lee was a child, his mother, Sheri, sat him down and was honest about the family’s financial situation. A single parent who worked for a long-term care facility, she wanted Marcus to understand that sometimes she might not be able to buy the toy he wanted.
Marcus understood. When his mother suggested they go out for a meal, he often said they should stay in and save the money. And when he enrolled at Deer Valley High School in this sleepy city 50 miles east of San Francisco, he thought the only way to afford college was to earn a scholarship.
He was 6 feet 2 then, and while basketball was an option, it was certainly not a guarantee. So he also joined the volleyball team. And worked out with the water polo team. And tried to bowl.
One afternoon best friend Jeffrey Brown called and asked him why he was out of breath. He asked if something was wrong.
“But he was just at school, randomly practicing with the track team,” Brown recalled, smiling and shaking his head.
It was one more possible route to college, one more way to help his mother. Marcus, whose parents are divorced, never told his mother his reason for trying so many sports, so many possibilities. When it was relayed to her last month, she became emotional.
“I’m surprised and awed to hear that,” Sheri Lee said. “It makes me very proud to know he was being so selfless.”
Today, of course, it’s obvious Marcus Lee did not need to worry about track or volleyball or water polo. He’s a high-flying 6-9 forward who is one of the top high school basketball players in the nation. And this fall he will be part of a University of Kentucky freshman class that is widely being hailed as the greatest ever.
An uncommon star
Lee’s story veers from the more traditional paths of other McDonald’s All Americans. He has not spent his life shuffling around the country from one major AAU tournament to another. Colleges have not been swooning over him since he was 14.
He’s a skinny, laid-back California kid, a former middle school class president who once gave his sneakers to a teammate who didn’t have any. He rarely watches basketball on television and cannot identify many famous players. A technology buff, he thought until recently that working for Apple would be preferable to playing in the NBA.
more (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130420/COLUMNISTS02/304200138/1002/Marcus-Lee-knew-he-needed-scholarship-he-tried-many-roads-before-Kentucky-basketball-recruiters-called)