The first Towson alumnus to play in the National Basketball Association, Kurk Lee '90 was inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 2000.
He made a huge impact on the Tiger program in his two years at Towson. Kurk played his first two college seasons at Western Kentucky University before transferring to Towson.
A native of Baltimore, he led the Tigers to their first two winning seasons at the NCAA Division I level in 1988-89 and 1989-90. In the 1988-89 season, he was the East Coast Conference Player of the Year, the first Tiger so honored. He led the league in scoring with a 25.4 average and finished 13th in the NCAA Division I.
Honored as the ECC Player of the Week five times, he was an honorable mention All-America selection. He led the Tigers to a 19-10 overall record and a second-place finish in the ECC. He also led the ECC in steals and free throw percentage while averaging 5.6 rebounds per game.
As a senior, he led the Tigers to their first ECC championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Kurk was named as the ECC Player of the Year for the second year in a row while setting school records with 805 points scored and a 26.0 scoring average. For the second year in a row, he was an honorable mention All-American and finished 13th in the nation in scoring. He capped off his senior year by leading Towson to the ECC Tournament title.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers were paired against number one-ranked Oklahoma in Austin, Texas and were a huge underdog. Led by Lee and his 30-point effort, Towson gave the Sooners all they could handle. Towson trailed by just two points in the final minutes before Oklahoma pulled out a 77-68 win.
In two seasons, he scored 1,514 points and finished his career as the Tigers’ fourth leading career scorer.
In 1990-91, he made the New Jersey Nets as an undrafted free agent. He appeared in 33 games for the Nets, scoring 1.4 points per game. After one season with the Nets, he played for Oklahoma City in the Continental Basketball Association for one year.
Last year, he returned to the Baltimore area and played for the Baltimore Bay Runners of the International Basketball League. With the Bay Runners, he was reunited with Terry Truax, his college coach at Towson. He was one of the top performers for the Bay Runners and led the IBL in free throw percentage.
Lee was also honored with the IBL’s first Community Service Man of the Year award. He has done community service in the Baltimore area since his graduation in 1990. He has been active in the Special Olympics and conducts many camps and clinics in the off-season. He has also been the basketball coach at Southside Academy while serving as a substitute teacher at Southside.
