Ketchikan’s Chris Lee is graduating from the NWAC to the GNAC. Photo courtesy of Edmonds Twitter
One of the greatest scorers from hoops rich Southeast Alaska will play his college basketball in Fairbanks after former Ketchikan High all-state standout Chris Lee signed with UAF.
Lee joins the Nanooks after winning NWAC North Region MVP honors last season at Edmonds College, where he averaged 19.5 points on 54% shooting to go with 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 15 games. Edmonds went 12-3 with Lee on the court and clinched the North Region’s No. 1 seed for the NWAC Tournament.
The 6-foot-1 rising junior dropped a season-high 28 points on Shoreline to fuel a 77-74 win. Three days later he poured in 21 of his 23 points in the second half on 8-of-14 shooting, including five of nine from 3-point land, to bring Edmonds back from a nine-point halftime deficit to beat Skagit Valley 67-61.
Lee is a proven winner, compiling a 40-16 career record at Edmonds and leading Ketchikan to the Alaska Class 4A state title as a junior in 2019.
New UAF coach Frank Ostanik, a former Monroe Catholic bench boss who coached against Lee from 2017 to 2020, remembered Lee well and the all-star guard was the first recruit Ostanik called after he got the job last month.
#907 excited to be back ! https://t.co/R6oNvhzlvB
— Chris Lee (@chrjslee) July 12, 2024
“He is a dynamic player who can score from all three levels. Nobody knows that better than me since I watched him put 44 up on my Monroe team in back-to-back games,” Ostanik said is a press release. “More importantly, as is the case with all great players, Chris makes others around him better. Finally, he is an Alaskan. We want all great Alaskan players to wear the blue and gold.”
At Ketchikan, Lee was a three-time all-state performer. As a junior, he was a second team pick and scored 28 points in the state title game. He was a first team pick as a senior and finished his high school career with 1,911 points – more than Carlos Boozer.
“With Chris, we know we are getting a highly talented young man who has been coached at a high level, both by Coach Stockhausen in Ketchikan and Coach Gray at Edmonds CC,” Ostanik said. “His IQ and feel for the game are exceptional.”
Lee is the second Alaskan to sign with the Nanooks this month, joining Jackson Krug of Kodiak. The 6-foot-5 rising junior played last season for Lassen College of the CCCAA and averaged 5.8 points on 44% shooting to go with 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 28 games.
