THE ’BIRD THE VIDETTE PRESENTS
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017 Vol. 129 / No. 35
INSIDE: Governor calls for ‘bipartisan cooperation’ in third State of the State address news page 3 Should Barb Smith stay or go? sports page 8
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Red Hot! Senior point guard breaks steals record, leads ISU to best league start in program history
Paris Lee leads Redbirds to 9-0 in MVC JOSH TOLENTINO Sports Editor | @JCTSports
T
he heart of the Illinois State men’s basketball team knows his days are limited. So senior Paris Lee is making the most of them. Lee, a four-year starter for the Redbirds, has improved in every aspect of his game since his arrival to Normal. He is a hawk on the defensive end and continues to improve his jump shot and be the veteran voice ISU relies on. A Proviso East graduate and Maywood native, Lee has climbed his
way up many categories in the ISU record books. After a six-steal effort last week at Bradley, Lee upped his career steals to 225, becoming ISU’s all-time steals leader, surpassing previous record holder Ron Jones (222). Since then, Lee has increased his pickpocket tally to 227. He is also in first place among active NCAA players for career steals. It is the latest, and possibly the most hallowed record in school history. Lee now holds the record, and he continues to add to it. “Defense has always been so natural to me,” Lee said. “I built lots of repetition pressing and playing
tight on guys in high school. That’s when guys started to respect me ... It’s crazy because here at ISU, I wasn’t really paying attention that I was getting that many steals. Until after the season, I looked at my numbers and I’m like, ‘man!’ Honestly I’m just trying to play basketball.” ISU coach Dan Muller knew what Lee was capable of when he recruited him out of high school. Muller imagined Lee might break the steals record, but he never really thought it might come to fruition. “When I recruited him, I thought he always had a chance,” Muller said. “But I’m not totally surprised. Paris
ABOVE: Senior Paris Lee tallied 18 points, 6 assists and 2 steals during Illinois State’s 71-66 victory over Indiana State Wednesday.
Photograph by JENNA KADZILULIS | Vidette Photo Editor
is a leader and he always wants to be number one.” A tenacious defender, Lee comes from a tough background. “My neighborhood was rough,” Lee said. “It’s a tough place to come out of. It’s easy to get distracted in Maywood but I wanted to play basketball so bad, so that really kept me on task.” Growing up, Lee always played with older “streetball” players. He credits them for building up his toughness. see Lee page 7
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