Marcus Lee Transfers to Cal: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The California Golden Bears added some size to their basketball program, as former Kentucky Wildcats forward Marcus Lee transferred to the Pac-12 school. 

Cal confirmed the transfer on Monday. Citing sources, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports broke the news on Saturday.

“We're very excited to have Marcus Lee be a part of our basketball family,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said in the program release. “Marcus brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program. He's contributed and won at a high level in high school as well as in college.”

This comes after Lee withdrew from the NBA draft and transferred from the SEC powerhouse this offseason, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Kentucky coach John Calipari said at the time that Lee “decided he is going to transfer to a school out West to be closer to his family,” per Goodman.

Lee—who is from Antioch, California—will have to sit out a season before taking the court for California in what will be his redshirt senior campaign after playing three years for the Wildcats, per Goodman.

Lee’s best attribute is his ability to protect the rim. Goodman noted his 100 career blocks rank 20th in Kentucky history, and the 6’9” forward swatted 1.6 shots per game last season. While he has never been an elite scorer (his 6.4 points a night in 2015-16 were a career high), he will give the Golden Bears a lengthy inside presence who can rebound and convert on open looks with impressive field-goal percentage totals:

Season	Minutes	Points	Rebounds	Blocks	Field-Goal Percentage
2013-14	6.3	2.4	1.4	0.6	61.9
2014-15	10.9	2.6	2.7	0.7	64.4
2015-16	21.8	6.4	6.0	1.6	68.0

Ryan Gorcey of Scout.com pointed out Lee will take the vacated scholarship at California that was available after guard Jordan Mathews elected to be a graduate transfer after earning his degree.

Gorcey also said Lee will fill a need for “a dynamic force at the 4” when he is eligible because “Ivan Rabb will likely be headed to the NBA draft after this coming season.” Lee will likely play alongside Kingsley Okoroh and Kameron Rooks in the California frontcourt when he returns to action.

Considering all three will be seniors at the time, the Golden Bears will have experience in front of the rim. Lee will also provide them with a battle-tested option in the rotation after Kentucky reached the Final Four in two of his three seasons in the program.

California hasn’t advanced to the Final Four since the 1959-60 campaign.