David Lee left Bemidji State University as one of its top players of all time. He was a four-time All-NIC selection for the Bemidji State basketball program from 1984 to 1988. He was named to the NIC All-Tournament team in 1986 and was also named most valuable player of that tournament. He left the BSU basketball program in 1988 as its all-time leading scorer with 2,034 points, a mark that still stands today. He recorded two of the top 10 single-season scoring totals at BSU with 596 points in 1987-88 (4th) and 535 in 1985-86 (8th). Lee still holds several career records. His 807 field goals made still ranks atop the BSU all-time annals and no other BSU player has made more free throws than Lee’s 364. Lee also ranks second on BSU’s career assists list with 314. In addition, his career free throw shooting percentage of 77.3 percent is tops among BSU players with at least 250 made. Lee also holds the single-season record for three-point percentage, hitting 54 percent (42-of-78) in 1987-88. Registering 854 points in 48 NIC games, Lee remains among the top 30 players in the history of the league in points scored, while his 18.6 points per game in league play rank him 10th all time. Lee was a member of two NAIA Division I District 13 tournament participant teams, which included a 1984-85 squad that earned the program’s first postseason victory.
After his days at BSU, Lee served as the girls’ basketball coach at Hayward High School, where he led the Hurricanes to a 358-129 record, a 74 percent winning ratio. His teams won seven Heart O’ North Conference championships and 10 regional championships. He also coached twice in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association all-star tournament. Lee continues to teach physical education at Hayward High School.
Lee and his wife Ronda have three daughters, Morgan (22), Tatum (21) and Ricki (19). Morgan and Tatum both played basketball for Bemidji State and Ricki runs track at Minnesota State. Morgan finished her career as a two-time All-NSIC Second Team member (2011-12 and 2013-14), second all-time at BSU in 3-pointers made (214) and seventh all-time in scoring (1,380).