FZN Senior KJ Lee recently signed a national “Letter of Intent” to continue his academic and athletic career at Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, IL. Lee was a three-year team member and cornerstone for the Panther basketball team that would achieve more than any other previous squad at North High. During Lee’s tenure with the program, the Panthers won back to back district titles, the 2021 conference title and advanced to the state “Final Four” for the first time in school history. The Panthers also posted back to back 20-win seasons, including a school record 27 wins this past season. This past season, saw Lee average a team high 19.6 points per game while grabbing 6.2 rebounds and dishing out 3.4 assists per game. During his 3 varsity seasons at North High, Lee amassed a point-total of 1288, becoming just the 6th Panther in school history to hit the 1000-point mark. A two-time “All-Conference” selection, Lee was named the conference’s “Player of Year” in 2021. Additionally, Lee was a 1st team Class 5 “All-State” selection. He leaves Fort Zumwalt North as one of the most accomplished players in school history.
Western Illinois, whose moniker is the Leathernecks, is a NCAA Division 1 institution that competes in basketball as a member of the Summit League. Lee mentioned WIU’s proximity, less than a 3-hour drive from O’Fallon, and it’s coaching staff as the main reasons he chose WIU. Lee becomes the third Panther, following in the footsteps of Justin Fitzpatrick (FZN Class of 2015) who played football and baseball at WIU and Shawn Farrar (FZN Class of 2012) who swam for the Leathernecks, to participate in WIU athletics. At WIU, Lee plans to major in communications. KJ is the son of Kelvin Lee Sr. and Victoria Hayden.