A New Lee is Something Special at Vanderbilt

No longer just his father’s son, Saben Lee is coming into his own

NASHVILLE – There’s a certain poise in his eyes, a calm which can’t be taught.

Saben Lee would have every reason to say it’s not worth it with the hand of adversity he’s been dealt in three seasons at Vanderbilt, yet he keeps rising to the challenges and getting better every single game. The son of former NFL running back and Florida State legend Amp Lee, the junior is no stranger to the sports spotlight. Now, it’s focused on him, and Saben keeps battling through the greatest of odds.

His last name is hanging in the rafters at Vanderbilt University but not because of his own family. Clyde Lee was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and All-American at Vanderbilt and considered by many as the greatest Commodore basketball player ever.

This younger Lee, unrelated to the former Vandy hoops legend, is becoming a champion of his own. He’s charming with kids and fans, humble and unassuming, and explosive when he goes to the rack. Fresh off a career-high 34 point effort in an 80-78 loss to Georgia at Memorial Gym Saturday night, the 2020 star is drawing comparisons to the greats and faced the media with teammate Scotty Pippen Jr. and head coach Jerry Stackhouse.

For this one night, there was one play he wants back, and that determination is what endears him to Commodore fans of all generations. After hitting 10 straight free throws, Lee missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity with a three-point lead. He took the podium with nothing but respect and the admiration of his teammates and fans.

“Definitely at the end, it hit me and that’s a tough break. But there’s a lot of things going up to it,” Lee said. “I missed the front end of a 1-and-1 or we wouldn’t even be in that situation. You can take it how you want, but I feel like there was a lot that the team and me personally could have done to get a different result.”

Situation. That’s probably the one word to describe Saban Lee’s journey at Vanderbilt. He’s been thrust into every possible adverse situation.

In his third season, the Phoenix native has played for two head coaches, been a starter and a sixth man off the bench, lost a top projected scoring teammate for three straight seasons, and refined his game. Now, he’s on a 1-13 Vanderbilt squad which is dangerous to prepare for with the defensive intensity on the upswing and Lee a candidate for a first-team All-SEC mention and player of the year consideration.

He’s sixth in the SEC in scoring and assists and the 6-foot-2, 183-pound guard is quickly becoming a nightmare for opposing defenses.

If the Commodores were a contender, the national spotlight might be bright. But Lee watched senior Matthew Fisher-Davis stopped with a shoulder injury his freshman season, and then five-star recruit and point guard Darius Garland out for the year when Saben was a sophomore. Lee started as a sixth man off the bench this year and he and sophomore Aaron Nesmith were the top-scoring duos in the SEC when Nesmith played one conference game and ended up on a rolling cart with a stress fracture.

Insert Lee, with grit, grind, and quiet intensity, and the Commodores pushed through three low scoring games before finding an offensive stride.

The highlight was a 99-90 win over then conference-undefeated LSU when Maxwell Evans exploded for 31 points. Slowly through the game, here came Lee. He finished with 33 and passed his classmate by game’s end.

Now instead of playing with the Fisher-Davis, Garland and Nesmith combos, Lee is the floor general for freshman sensation Pippen and a lunch pail group of youngsters and walk-ons which see the floor thanks to the approach of Coach Stackhouse where everyone with effort gets a chance.

That’s why Jon Jossell fought his way to a jump ball with a four-point lead against a Georgia player twice his size, and Drew Weikert picked the pocket of the Bulldogs for a buzzer-beater layup and eight-point halftime lead.

Does the focus on the little guys faze Lee? No, he embraces it. And that’s why he’s a leader.

“The players that were in, in practice I see them play 5-on-5 and they are in there with us just like everyone else,” Lee said. “They are in there battling like anyone else. I knew they were in there competing and battling. I knew they were going to rock with me and I trust them.”

Lee is now number 32 all-time on the Vanderbilt scoring list with 1,227 points, and he passed four players Saturday night. Next up is Fisher-Davis and Brad Tinsley.

Starting just 12 games, he’s second only to Nesmith with 32.5 minutes per game. He averages 17.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and has 117 assists and 44 steals. He’s raised his free throw percentage to 77 percent after some early-season struggles and shoots 49 percent from the field and 31 percent from three.

Lee is not an overpowering center like Will Perdue, or sharp-shooting three-point assassins like John Jenkins, Shan Foster, and Barry Goheen. What Lee is, however, is arguably the most explosive and prolific finisher in the history of the program. His dunks are commonplace on the top 10 highlights.

His namesake wasn’t bad, either. Clyde Lee was the two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year in 1965 and 1966 and a senior All-American. He won 65 games in three seasons and averaged a double-double at 21.4 points and 15.5 rebounds. His number 43 jersey is retired.

That’s a hefty comparison for the modern Lee, who certainly is not 6-foot-10 and has yet to be a part of a team contending for the league championship. This does not mean some goals are not reachable, with Lee’s career-best 41 points in a game, and all-time scoring mark of 1,691 points (which is now ranked number six all-time).

Saben Lee needs 464 points to pass the Commodore legend. His season totals to date are 338 as a freshman, 406 as a sophomore and 483 in the current season.

It would take 784 points to reach all-time leading scorer Foster (2,011). His total assists are at 338, with Atiba Prater the all-time leader at 517. That mark would take a strong finish to reach, as his previous high was 122 in a season as a sophomore.

Regardless of where his numbers rank among the greats, his leadership already has him there, and fans are finally recognizing the blend of talent, leadership, and character wearing “zero” on the floor.

One day, Saben Lee might make a case for number one.