Temple’s basketball team has received some great play from a number of players this season. And one of them is Anthony Lee, the Owls’ 6-foot-9, 210-pound freshman forward, who has given Temple some consistent play around the basket.

Fran Dunphy, Owls head coach, has been very pleased with Lee’s contributions. Dunphy has been pleased with the way Lee has stepped up for a good part of the season when 6-foot-11 forward Micheal Eric was sidelined for eight weeks, missing 13 games with a knee injury.

“I’m very impressed with him,” Dunphy said. “Obviously, we got Mike back. But Anthony has done a really great job of stemming the tide for us.”

Lee has done that with his hustle, rebounding and putbacks. He’s averaging 6.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game. He certainly gained a lot of attention with his play in Temple’s big upset over nationally ranked Duke last month. In that game, he had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

He had nine points and a career high five blocks in a win over La Salle. Lee has also performed extremely well this season despite missing all of last year after having surgery to repair a herniated disk.

“I was kind of concerned when I got the injury last year,” Lee said. “I was wondering if I would lose any explosiveness or would I lose my jumping ability. But this year I’ve been able to fulfill my role with this team. I’ve been able to step up for Mike and give them rebounding and blocking shots. I’m just trying to keep our team stable. Now, he’s back and I’m playing a regular role.”

Lee played a lot of basketball in Iowa last summer in preparation for this season. He grew up near Columbia, Md., right outside of Baltimore, where he spent most of his career playing for Eustis High School. Then, he moved to Florida where he was a star at West Oak Academy averaging 23.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks a game. His family recently moved to Davenport, Iowa.

“I played a lot in Iowa,” he said. “My family lives out there now. I’m originally from Maryland. Then, I moved to Florida. Now, my family has moved to Iowa. I was just working out. I didn’t want to do too much with my back. I came back about 215 (pounds). My weight has been fluctuating. But I’ve been able to get my jumping ability back for the season.”

Temple took notice of Lee’s basketball skills during his scholastic career at West Oak Academy. The Owls big man was recruited by several Division I programs. However, he had some knowledge of the Temple basketball program.

“I knew about Temple since I lived in Maryland,” he said. “We used to come up to Philadelphia a lot. So, when I moved to Florida I already knew about the Temple tradition and the coach (Fran Dunphy). It wasn’t a hard decision. I had a lot of good schools looking at me, but since I love the city and the atmosphere, it was pretty much a done deal.”

Temple (16-5 overall, 5-2 A-0) will visit Rhode Island (5-18 overall, 2-6 A-10) on Saturday, February 4 in an Atlantic 10 Conference matchup. The contest will be on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. The Owls have a five game winning streak and Lee has been a big part of the team’s success.

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .