MOBILE, Ala. – Dederick Lee will join the University of South Alabama men's basketball program for the 2016-17 season, head coach Matthew Graves announced Wednesday.

Lee, a 6-foot-2 point guard who spent the 2015-16 campaign at Indian Hills Community College and the previous two years at Oral Roberts, will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

"We're very excited about Dederick because he brings a lot of Division I experience from Oral Roberts, and also as a starting point guard for a perennial top-10 junior college at Indian Hills," Graves said. "We think his experience will really help add to our depth in the backcourt for next year."

In his one season at IHCC, Lee led the league in both assists (208) and assist/turnover ratio (3.2), while averaging 6.3 points and shooting 46.5 percent from the floor. He recorded double-digit points seven times and dished out 10 or more assists on four occasions, with one double-double, setting season highs with 18 points and 14 rebounds against Triton.

"He is a pass-first point guard that is really good at getting others involved first," Graves noted. "He had a great assist/turnover ratio at Indian Hills and we're looking forward to his ability to change speeds and make plays for others."

A native of Clarksville, Ark., Lee was on the roster at Oral Roberts for two seasons, including a redshirt year in 2013-14. He appeared in 20 games with two starts as a redshirt freshman and averaged 1.3 points per contest with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.9.

"Coach (Brock) Morris' great relationship with Coach (Hank) Plona at Indian Hills was a big factor in signing Dederick," Graves added. "Brock did a great job in following up and getting him to campus as quickly as possible."

As a prep at Clarksville High School, Lee scored more than 2,500 points in his career, one of three players in school history to do so, and led the Panthers to back-to-back 4A state titles. He was a three-time all-state recipient and earned all-conference honors four times.

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