Lee’s game is on point

If you were to see Lady Bobcats’ forward Andrea Lee right before a big game, she would probably be engulfed in her headphones with her head nodding to the latest track by Ja Rule, DMX or Tupac.

“I have certain types of music that I listen to in order to get myself motivated. It helps me think of what I’m going to contribute in order for us to win,” said Lee.

The music must be doing the trick because Lee has been phenomenal since her arrival at Georgia College & State University.

Lee is in her second full season with the Lady Bobcats. She dominates the Peach Belt Conference and as of last weekend, she was leading the conference in scoring at 18.5 points per game, along with three-point shooting percentage and three-point field goals made. She is poised to help lead her team to a repeat championship in the Peach Belt Conference.

Lee transferred to GC&SU from Sante Fe Community College in Florida, after her sophomore year. The transition was a little bumpy at first, but that wasn’t going to stop her from giving it her all.

“In junior college, I was a one-on-one scorer, but now, I’m more of a fundamental player,” said Lee. She felt that she had to get used to playing in Coach Carrick’s team system.

“Everybody has their own little role on the team. I think that’s what makes our team better than the others,” said Lee.

Lee has definitely seen the glory that can come from triumph on the basketball court. Just look at the statistics from her Peach Belt Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player performance of last year. Lee was a double-double waiting to happen, averaging 15 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

Unfortunately, Lee has also felt the difficulties of having to play through pain and adversity. In her senior year of high school she discovered that she was diabetic, and would have to change her lifestyle in order to compete.

“It has really been difficult since I became a diabetic,” said Lee. “I wasn’t used to taking shots and not being able to eat certain stuff that I had always been able to eat on a daily basis.”

It also takes Lee longer to recover from things like knee injuries, something that some basketball players are around on a constant basis. But Lee can appreciate the lesson learned in any situation.

“Overall, it has helped me to maintain better health, and it’s taught me a whole lot more responsibility towards life,” said Lee.

Lee, who grew up watching both of her parents play basketball, graduated from Columbia High School in Lake City, Fla. She uses up a lot of cellular minutes, talking to her friends and relatives back home. After graduation, those cellular minutes could get a lot more expensive, as Lee hopes to travel overseas and continue playing basketball in the minor leagues.

“I’m not really interested in playing in the WNBA [Women's National Basketball Association], but I wouldn’t mind going overseas to play,” said Lee. “Basketball has been my life, and I love it to death.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 24 2003. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry