The University of Louisville announced today that Drexel standout Damion Lee will be transferring to the program. He was tabbed the top transfer in the country by ESPN. Many thought he would transfer to schools like Maryland or Arizona, but the Cardinals snatched him quickly.
After losing Rozier, Harrell, Blackshear, and Jones, Louisville was looking to reload instead of rebuild. Louisville already had great recruits coming in that included 5th year senior Trey Lewis. There will only be two freshman contributing right out of the gate in Donovan Mitchell and Deng Adel, but they need all the help they could get. Damion Lee couldn’t have come to Louisville at a better time.
Lee was the 5th leading scorer in all of college basketball last season. He averaged 21.4 PPG, 6.1 TRB, and 1.5 STL before fracturing his hand toward the end of the season. Lee will step in as the oldest player on Louisville and will have to be a leader. He joins Trey Lewis as the two lone 5th year players on the team. His scoring ability will complement Lewis easily.
The master plan to get Lee to commit to Louisville wasn’t like everyone else's plans. As soon as Trey Lewis signed with Louisville, he got on the phone with Lee and began the process. Rick Pitino, even took Lee and some other players to laser tag! The key to landing a top player seems to be to challenge them to laser tag. It's a new thing!
The Drexel transfer will have an interesting spot in the rotation. He should be starting at the small forward position but will also see some shooting guard. Supposedly, he will be starting alongside Trey Lewis and Donovan Mitchell. My guess though would be that Quentin Snider would start instead of Donovan Mitchell because of his breakout NCAA Tournament. Lee will share the three spot with freshman Deng Adel. He will challenge Lee every day in practice with his outstanding on-ball defense.
Damion Lee is exactly what the Cardinals needed. He will put them right in the middle of the ACC conference title race. Without him, Louisville would be on the fringe of not making the top 25. Damion Lee will be an excellent scorer and will provide the much needed outside shooting. Cardinal fans have much to look forward to in their 2nd year of ACC play.