Hoops: CJ Lee Hired as Administrative Assistant
[press release]
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan men's basketball head coach John Beilein announced today (Tuesday, Nov. 9) the hiring of former Wolverine C.J. Lee as the administrative specialist for the Wolverine program, after Travis Conlan was elevated to the Director of Basketball Operations.
"I am thrilled to come back and formally be a part of the Michigan basketball program," said Lee. "This is an opportunity that I am very thankful for. I look forward to learning under Coach Beilein, his staff, and the entire athletic administration. My role will allow me to learn the operations side of collegiate athletics and see the game of basketball from a different perspective."
After transferring to Michigan from Manhattan College, Lee played in 67 games as a Wolverine and a 103 total in his collegiate career. Walking on to the Wolverines, Lee earned a second semester scholarship as a senior and closed the year earning his bachelor's degree in political science.
Returning for his fifth year, Lee was awarded a full scholarship from Beilein, was named a co-captain and was an integral part in a Wolverine late-season run and subsequent return to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, where U-M advanced to the second round.
Lee was named a Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winner and was a Michigan Daily Student of the Year, one of 10 recipients. He closed his career recording his first career double-digit scoring performance with 11 points against Oklahoma in the NCAA second round.
A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Lee was awarded the Thad Garner Leadership Award twice, the Wayman Britt Outstanding Defensive Player (2009) and the Steve Grote Hustle Award (2008) by the program.
In May of 2010, Lee completed his master's degree in public policy from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.
While continuing to finish his master's following his final season, Lee worked for the recent State of Michigan Governor-elect Rick Snyder on his campaign. He served as a travel aide and policy/communications staffer until April 2010.
After graduating, Lee began work at Ann Arbor SPARK. As a business development manager with SPARK, Lee helped established companies maneuver the local and state business climate by connecting them to the resources designed to help them succeed.
[/press release]
Good for CJ, and it seems like he'll be a valuable addition to the program. His contributions (and David Merritt's) to the 2008-09 team are often overlooked, but the Wolverines definitely don't make the tournament without those guys.
November 9th, 2010 at 6:06 PM ^
With all the young players on the team his leadership ability will be a great asset.
November 9th, 2010 at 6:09 PM ^
Anyone know what happened to Brian Townsend, who used to be Director of Basketball Operations? I only ask because I had the guy for a class at Pioneer and loved the dude.
November 9th, 2010 at 6:18 PM ^
He was promoted to an Associate AD for Revenue Sports (or some such title) position.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:49 PM ^
Congrats to him!
November 9th, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
good to see that former beilein players are believers.
November 9th, 2010 at 6:43 PM ^
Great move. He was a great asset as a player and will be even better in this role.
November 9th, 2010 at 6:50 PM ^
But in all seriousness, I loved him as a player and I think he will be a great coach.
Go blue.
November 9th, 2010 at 6:51 PM ^
This would make a nice "teary-eyed" documentary. Transfer walks on, becomes a co-captain, gets not only his Bachelor's but his Master's, and comes back to work for the team and school he put so much hard work into.
Congratulations to CJ Lee and to whoever in the athletic department was intelligent enough to see what an asset he could be to any program. This is a classic win/win for all involved.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
Agreed, Lee is a phenomenal asset to the program in any capacity.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
I love CJ Lee.
That's all.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:45 PM ^
With CJ Lee and Denard now in the same athletic program at the same time, is there any doubt that Michigan athletes have the best smiles in the country?
November 9th, 2010 at 9:23 PM ^
That is a great hire. I love CJ Lee. He would have ran through a brick wall for a win if asked. That kind of guy can only have a positive effect. Really exciting.
November 9th, 2010 at 9:29 PM ^
I always like cj lee
November 9th, 2010 at 9:39 PM ^
...moving up the ladder quickly. Good for him and good for C.J. The program is better for these moves.
November 10th, 2010 at 12:11 PM ^
does anyone know what the director of b-ball operations does?
November 10th, 2010 at 12:37 PM ^
...educated guess, but essentially he's responsible for administrative and logistics functions. I assume he supervises the MBB support staff (i.e., the non-coaching staff).
Support Staff
• Travis Conlan - Director of Basketball Operations
• C.J. Lee - Administrative Specialist
• Peter Kahler - Video Coordinator
• Will Vergollo - Graduate Manager
November 10th, 2010 at 1:05 PM ^
sounds like a good job
November 9th, 2010 at 9:51 PM ^
actually put the ball through the hoop.
November 9th, 2010 at 10:01 PM ^
Support staff doing any extra coaching in our athletic department at this point of time.... ;-)
November 10th, 2010 at 1:14 PM ^
That's great news! CJ Lee was an athlete, sportsman, gentleman and scholar. He'll be a valuable asset to the basketball program!
EDIT: Added gentleman and scholar. Let's face it, this guy is a class act. I hope he spends a long time with the program and wish him the best.
November 9th, 2010 at 10:20 PM ^
Couldnt happen to a better guy. CJ is the kind of guy teams want to surround their programs with.
November 10th, 2010 at 11:23 AM ^
Brings a'lot of class and character to the program
November 10th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^
Nice to see former Wolverines come back to the program and help to elevate it. Best of luck to C.J. going forward.
November 10th, 2010 at 1:10 PM ^
Loved him as a player and always heard great things about him as a student. It's super he's back.
To be honest I thought he might have some interesting political trajectory with his Snyder connection, and we'd start hearing about him from that angle, but I'm delighted to have him officially affiliated with the team.
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