July 3, 2009
NORFOLK, VA--All-CAA center/forward Gerald Lee (Uusikaupunki, Finland) will compete forhis native Finland this summer as they attempt to qualify for the European Championships.
The Finnish national team will have to win an additional qualifying round tournament whichincludes France and Italy to get one of the 16 spots in the European Championships. The qualifyingTournament begins August 8 in France. Last year, Finland defeated Hungary twice andSerbia in the EuroBasket Division A which earned them a place in the upcoming qualifying round.
The 6-10 Lee led the Monarchs in scoring at 15.5 points per game. He also hit .542 from the floorand .755 from the free throw line. Lee ranked fourth in the CAA in scoring, third in field goal percentage,tenth in free throw percentage and 11th in rebounding. Lee was named to the NABC All-District 10squad, the CIT All-Tournament team, and the CollegeInsider.com Mid Major All-American squad.
Lee had four double-doubles this year, including a career high 30 points along with10 rebounds against Hofstra in the CAA Tournament. He now has 1,104 career points.
Lee helped ODU to a 25-10 overall record and won the inaugural CollegeInsider.com ChampionshipWith a 66-62 win at Bradley.
Playing for his national team will also continue a Lee Family tradition. His father, Gerald Lee, Sr. is the Finnish League'sAll-time scorer with 12,556 career points joined the team in 1992 after becoming a citizen.