Lee calls it quits

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Perhaps it wasn't meant to be for Eric Lee and UNLV.

The 6-foot-10 center from Indianola, Miss., decided it wasn't worth the battle after trying to deal with numerous setbacks that marred his two-plus years with the Rebels.

Lee quit the team Sunday after meeting with coach Bill Bayno. His departure, the second of the season (Ben Sanders left the team early in the fall), combined with injuries to Chancellor Davis and Donovan Stewart leaves the Rebels with just 10 players for Wednesday's nationally televised game against Syracuse.

"I don't want to sound selfish," Lee said Monday night from his Las Vegas apartment, "but any player wants to play and it got to the point where I wasn't going to be playing a lot.

"I knew it was time to go after Reno when I played only five minutes. It was hurting me more being on the team and not playing. It got to the point where I wasn't smiling anymore."

Bayno, who didn't want to comment beyond a perfunctory statement issued as part of a three-paragraph release by the university Monday afternoon, said Lee's quitting didn't leave him frustrated.

"It's not like it just happened," he said. "It's been a constant source of frustration."

Lee, who was averaging 4.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 16 minutes for four games, said he's keeping his options open. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining wherever he decides to go.

"I'm probably looking to go back to the South and play close to home," he said. "But I'm not ruling anything out."

Which means maybe he'll be reunited with Rollie Massimino, who recruited him to UNLV out of Gentry High three years ago but resigned just prior to Lee's freshman campaign in 1994. Massimino is back on the sidelines at Cleveland State.

Then there's former UNLV assistant Jay Wright, the head coach at Hofstra. But Lee said he wasn't sure if he wanted to live in New York.

"The thing that's frustrating about this is that I always wanted to go to UNLV," Lee said. "I was a Rebel fan from when I was young. I grew up following guys like Freddie Banks."

Which is why Lee remained at UNLV when Massimino left prior to the 1994-95 season and Tim Grgurich took over. Lee played in 28 games his freshman year, averaging 3.0 points and 3.8 rebounds while blocking 34 shots.

And he remained a Rebel after Grgurich took ill and eventually resigned. His sophomore year was marred by a herniated disk that required surgery in December and limited him to just two games for Bayno, who had replaced Grgurich.

His rehab was slow, but Lee said his back was fine this season. However, the back flared up from time to time and when he sprained his shoulder against Miami Nov. 29, it was yet another setback to deal with.

"I was feeling real good," Lee said. "I was back. But when I didn't get a lot of time in the second exhibition game, I was wondering if it would pick up.

"But as time went on, I wasn't going to play a lot. And after Reno, it stressed me to where I saw my dream fading away on me. That's when I decided it was best if I moved on."