Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1985
- Class:
- 1972
Russell Lee came to Marshall out of Hyde Park High School in Boston, Mass., and after playing a season on the freshman team coached by the newly graduated Dan D’Antoni, led the Thundering Herd varsity in scoring for three seasons as he played for some of the most talented and acclaimed teams in school history. As a sophomore in the 1969-70 season, the 6-foot-5 forward averaged 24.1 points per game, then he upped the figure to 25.3 points per game and also led the team with a 12.4 rebound average as a junior.
Lee saved his best for last when he teamed with fellow Hall of Famers Ty Collins, Mike D’Antoni and Randy Noll to lead Coach Carl Tacy’s 1971-72 team to a 23-4 record and NCAA Tournament berth. That season Marshall rose to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll during the season and finished at No. 12 in the final poll, both the highest rankings in school history. Lee scored 41 points that season in a memorable showdown with Ole Miss as the Thundering Herd won that year’s Marshall Invitational Tournament, for which Lee was named the MVP.  For his career, Lee scored an amazing 1,815 points in only three seasons of varsity competition, an average of 23.9 points per game. He also grabbed 863 rebounds, an average of 11.4 per game. At the time Lee was the second all-time scorer and No. 4 rebounder in Marshall history, and his points per game average remains the top number in the school record book.
Lee was named an All-American by Converse, Basketball Weekly and Street & Smith’s, and then earned MVP honors at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for college seniors. He was chosen in the first round, as the sixth overall pick, of the 1972 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He played three pro seasons with the Bucks and New Orleans Jazz. A superb athlete, he also received a tryout with football’s Dallas Cowboys. Lee’s uniform No. 55 was retired by Marshall in 2003. He was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985.
