STEENS — While Wade Lee had enough height to soar over opponents, his back hasn”t allowed him to do so for the past two years. So the senior forward at Immanuel Christian found other ways to excel, to overcome his back injury, and to earn The Dispatch Small Schools Player of the Year honors.
“I had to change my shot, change how I play,” said Lee, who averaged 16.7 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and two blocked shots this past season. “Around my ninth-, 10th-grade year, I was almost dunking. Then I messed my back up. It hurt my jumping, hurt my shooting. I had to keep working through it. God just blessed me to be able to get my game back.”
The injury improved his jump shot, Lee said. It took him a while, but he was forced to shoot high and utilize his legs.
It was difficult. The summer before his senior year, he attempted at least 500 shots a daily. It was even more challenging because he was still growing into his 6-foot-6 frame. As a freshman, he was a 5-8 point guard. But he grew, and grew, and grew, changing positions as he did.
This past season, Lee moved from a No. 2 scoring option, his normal role, to the primary scorer. Center Justin James, Immanuel Christian”s top player, hobbled into the basketball season, still recovering from a broken right ankle that ended his senior season of football after two games.
“He was our main player, our post guy,” Lee said of James. “When he got injured, I knew I was going to be one of the main guys to step up.”
Lee moved from small forward to power forward, then to shooting guard when a teammate endured a case of mono right before the playoffs. His senior season marked his first time in high school in which he”d played the game without suffering an injury during the season.
“Wade was a hard-working kid,” Immanuel Christian boys basketball coach Billy Thomas said. “He would leave practice, go to the Air Force base, and go practice some more. We have a bunch of older men that get together on Sunday afternoons after church to play basketball. He lives like 45 minutes from the school. He would drive down here on Sunday to play with those guys. He felt like they were making him better. He just worked real hard.”
The dedication paid off, as Lee earned District co-MVP honors and spots on the all-conference team, the Mississippi Association of Independent School”s All-Star game and the All-State team.
Lee also worked hard enough to accomplish one of his senior goals: earn a chance to play basketball in college. This fall, he will play for Holmes Community College.
Unfortunately, Lee and the Rams fell short of their goal: to become the first Immanuel Christian boys basketball team to reach the state tournament. Trinity, the eventual Class A state runner-up, eliminated Immanuel Christian 73-45 in the round of eight. In the final minute of the loss, Lee dunked for the first time in high school. It might have been a trivial feat for most players his height, but it was an accomplishment considering his years of pain that forced him to play below his height.
“I”d seen him try to dunk about 10 times that year, and every one of them bounced about 10 feet off the rim,” Thomas said. “He worked for everything he got his senior year.”
The experience taught Lee that even if you”re not the strongest guy, a strong work ethic will take you a long way.
“I never in my life would have thought I would have averaged almost 17 points a game,” he said. “Averaging almost a double-double, I never would have thought I could achieve that. With God”s help, I did.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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