At this point, few people in college basketball are actually surprised when a player transfers up a level in competition and has success, not even when they land with national powers like Louisville.
Such is the case for Damion Lee, who after transferring in from Drexel, has averaged 18.3 points and four rebounds per game for the Louisville Cardinals and head coach Rick Pitino. Though the competition has been fair from stiff, UL got their first test of the year on Wednesday night when they took on No. 3 Michigan State in East Lansing.
While Louisville fell 71-67, Lee and fellow UL transfer Trey Lewis–from Cleveland State–left no doubt as to whether they belonged on college basketball’s biggest stages. The two combined for 44 points, 21 points and 23 points respectively, nine rebounds, and six steals.
Essentially, they dual-handedly kept the Cardinals in the game.
Pitino is notorious for being much more a stickler for his team’s play on the defensive end compared to the offensive side, even more so when his top player (Lee) is shooting 55.6-percent from the field, an insane mark for someone who doesn’t do most of their work on the low block.
With Louisville likely to stay ranked after their narrow road loss to Sparty, Lee is going to start getting a lot more attention by fantasy owners in the coming weeks. If you’re looking for a scorer who might chip in some rebounds as well, he absolutely warrants a long look here.
