Greg Lee (basketball)
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Gregory Scott Lee (December 12, 1951September 21, 2022) was an American professional
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
player. He played
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
for the
UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...
, winning back-to-back national championships as their starting
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
in 1972 and 1973. He had short stints in the original
American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
(ABA) and the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA) before playing four seasons in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. As a volleyball player, Lee teamed with
Jim Menges James Menges (born January 10, 1951) is an American former volleyball player, coach, and Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tournament director. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins under head coach Al Scates. His college ...
to set a record with 13 consecutive professional
beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
titles. He was inducted into the
California Beach Volleyball Association The California Beach Volleyball Association, commonly known by the acronym CBVA, was the first governing body for beach volleyball. Since its founding in 1962, CBVA has coordinated local beach volleyball tournaments for players of all skill levels. ...
's (CBVA) hall of fame.


Early life

Lee was born in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles on December 12, 1951. His father, Marvin, played
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
for the
UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...
under coach
Wilbur Johns Wilbur Johns (December 8, 1903 – July 14, 1967) was an American men's college basketball coach and athletics administrator. He was the head basketball coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), prior to John Wooden, serving from ...
. Lee attended
Reseda Charter High School Reseda Charter High School (RCHS), established in 1955, is located in the Reseda section of the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. In the fall of 2018, the school became a charter and is now Reseda Charter Hi ...
, where he was an All-American and named
Los Angeles City Section The CIF Los Angeles City Section (CIF-LA) is the governing body of high school athletics for public schools in the city of Los Angeles and some surrounding communities. All of these schools were once associated with the Los Angeles Unified Schoo ...
player of the year in basketball.


Basketball career

Lee played
point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...
at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, from 1971 to 1974. When he arrived,
freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...
were not allowed to compete on the
varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...
. He played on the freshman team with
Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...
and Keith Wilkes (later known as
Jamaal Wilkes Jamaal Abdul-Lateef (born Jackson Keith Wilkes; May 2, 1953), better known as Jamaal Wilkes, is an American former basketball player who was a small forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-time NBA All-Star, he won four NBA ...
), and they went undefeated with a 20–0 record. In his
sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
year, Lee became a starter on the varsity squad. He and his classmates went on the 1971–72 Bruins squad and had a record of 30–0, winning its games by an average margin of over 30 points. Lee averaged 8.7 points per game, while Wilkes averaged 13.5 points and Walton 21.1. UCLA won the national title in 1972 over
Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...
81–76. The following year, the Bruins again went 30–0, and again won the NCAA tournament with an 87–66 win over
Memphis State } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...
. Lee's 14 assists in the game set an NCAA championship game record. He had started the season as a
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
after coach
John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...
replaced him in the starting lineup with
Tommy Curtis Thomas Lewis Curtis (January 8, 1952August 3, 2021) was an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins. He played on two undefeated national championship teams at UCLA. He did not lose a game in college until his final season, helpi ...
. However, Curtis became ill with the
London flu During the 1972–1973 flu season in the Northern Hemisphere, a new variant of influenza, dubbed the 'London flu' by the press in the United States, was responsible for epidemics in many countries. 'London flu' was caused by a variant of influe ...
after 10 games. Lee re-established himself as the starter, and Curtis became a key reserve. In Lee's
senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...
year in 1973–74, Curtis became a starter again, and
Andre McCarter Andre McCarter (born August 25, 1953) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard (basketball), guard born in Philadelphia, McCarter played college basketball at UCLA under coach John Wooden. McCarter played three season ...
's improved play also cut into Lee's playing time. The school's 88-game winning streak ended with a 71–70 loss to Notre Dame. The streak remains an NCAA men's basketball record. Later that season, UCLA's stretch of consecutive national titles was stopped at seven after
North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
defeated the Bruins 80–77 in double
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...
in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. In his 2016 autobiography, Walton blamed Curtis for both the tournament loss as well as earlier defeats in the season, and lamented Lee's lack of playing time. After his collegiate career ended, Lee was drafted by both the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
and ABA. The
Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...
drafted him in the seventh round (115th pick overall) of the 1974 NBA draft and the
San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...
drafted him in the fifth round of the
ABA draft The American Basketball Association draft was held from 1967 to 1975. First overall picks Note: 1974 ABA College Draft, not 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players Further reading *{{cite book, last=Bradley, first=Robert D., title=The Basketball Draft Fac ...
the same year. He chose the Conquistadors, averaging 3.6 points and 2.6 assists in five games. The next season, he moved to the NBA, joining Walton on the
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...
and averaging 1.2 points and 2.2 assists in five games. At the urging of former UCLA player John Ecker, Lee then played in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
for four seasons with TuS 04 Leverkusen.


Beach volleyball career

Lee did not play volleyball for UCLA. However, his older brother
Jon Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned". Lee played in his first
open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (YF ...
at the Laguna Beach Open in 1972, finishing second with Ron Von Hagen. His first open victory was with Tom Chamales at the 1972 Santa Barbara Open. Lee reached the finals four times that year, winning twice. It was in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
in 1972 that Lee met what came to be his longtime beach partner
Jim Menges James Menges (born January 10, 1951) is an American former volleyball player, coach, and Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) tournament director. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins under head coach Al Scates. His college ...
. The pair of Lee and Menges won their first open tournament together at the 1973 Marine Street Open, defeating Ron Lang and Von Hagen in the finals. The two were partners on and off over the summers of the next two seasons while Menges completed his volleyball career at UCLA and Lee played professional basketball for a couple of years. Lee's best finish on the beach in 1974 was a second at the
Manhattan Beach Open The Manhattan Beach Open is a beach volleyball tournament held annually during the summer in Manhattan Beach, California. Held on the south side of the Manhattan Beach Pier, the Open is the only professional volleyball tournament in which amat ...
. Starting in 1975, Lee and Menges began playing together full-time, and the two had a dominant run. They reached the finals of 10 events, winning all but one. In the mid-1970s, the beach volleyball tour consisted of 12 tournaments, all played at beaches along the
California coast Coastal California, also known as the California Coastline and the Golden Coast, refers to the coastal regions of the U.S. state of California. The term is not primarily geographical as it also describes an area distinguished by cultural, economic ...
, from Santa Cruz in the north to
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
in the south. Lee and Menges dominated the events, winning the final seven matches of the 1975 season and the first six in 1976 to string together 13 tournament wins in a row. The record stood for 16 years until tied by the pairing of
Karch Kiraly Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly () (born November 3, 1960) is an American volleyball player, coach and broadcast announcer. In the 1980s he was a central part of the United States men's national volleyball team, U.S National Team that won gold ...
and
Kent Steffes Kent Steffes (born June 23, 1968 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a former professional beach volleyball player. Steffes received his AAA beach rating while still attending Palisades High School. He was named the 1986 National High School Player ...
. Lee and Menges had become the most dominant pairing in beach volleyball. On the 1977 tour, Lee advanced to the finals three times, winning all of them. In 1978, he reached five finals, winning four times. Lee also won the 1981 Laguna Beach Open with Jay Hanseth. In 1981, Lee and Menges won their last open title, at the Mission Beach Open in San Diego. In total Lee won 25 tournaments with his partner Menges, which places the pair at No. 6 on the all-time list of wins for a team. Lee's greatest success on the beach came when teaming with Menges. They were considered the kings of the beach in the mid- to late 1970s. From 1973–1982, Lee and Menges played in 30 tournaments together, winning 25, finishing second three times and third twice. They were never out of the top three. The pair also won pro beach volleyball's first World Championship in 1976. Following a loss that stopped Kiraly and Steffes from breaking the tour record of 13 tournament championships in a row set in 1975–76 by Lee and Menges, Kiraly said: "I guess it's appropriate that Menges and Lee stay in the record book. They laid the foundation for the sport." Lee scored additional victories with Hagen and Hanseth. In 1977, he left the sand to play professional basketball in Europe, returning to Southern California two years later. He entered a total of 62 opens, reaching the finals 39 times while collecting 29 tournament titles. He was inducted into the CBVA Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1997.


Personal life

Lee and wife Lisa were married for 48 years and had two children: Ethan and Jessamyn. Following his athletic career, Lee and his family settled in San Diego. He taught mathematics at Morse High School, and coached the girls'
junior varsity Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate levelâ ...
team for two years was an assistant coach on the boys' varsity team. In 1985, he became the varsity boys’ coach at Clairemont High, where he continued teaching math and also coached tennis. Lee faced health problems after a failed back surgery in 1998. He died on September 21, 2022, at a hospital in San Diego. He was 70 and suffered from an infection linked to an immune disorder.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Greg 1951 births 2022 deaths American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players American men's beach volleyball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Basketball players from Los Angeles Bayer Giants Leverkusen players High school basketball coaches in California Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Reseda, Los Angeles Point guards Portland Trail Blazers players San Diego Conquistadors draft picks San Diego Conquistadors players Shooting guards UCLA Bruins men's basketball players