Lee breaks K-M boys basketball scoring record

Kasson-Mantorville senior Ethan Lee started playing basketball in second grade. He watched Steph Curry play, and he fell in love with the game.
“As a kid I wanted to play in the NBA for the Warriors and be just like him,” Lee said. “As of now, I probably won’t make the NBA, but it would be cool to play overseas one day.”
Last week, Lee became the all time scoring leader for K-M boys basketball, beating Braxton Raymond’s record, who had 1,606 points.
“It’s definitely an honor to break the record,” Lee said.
For Lee, breaking the record was special to him, after seeing the late Braxton Raymond play when he was a kid.
Growing up, Lee would walk by Braxton’s dad Kelly in the hallway who would call Lee the “future” and tell him he “would be the one to break the record.”
Braxton Raymond passed away from cancer in 2019.
“That was always a really cool thing for me, because I remember going to some of Braxton’s games as a kid, and I really looked up to him and admired him,” Lee said.
In attendance for the record breaking shot was Kelly Raymond.
“I’m happy for Ethan, he’s a great kid,“ he said.
After the game, he said he was asked by people if he was upset about his late son’s record being broken.
Kelly Raymond said, no, noting him and his son talked about it all the time, the different players that couldbreak it.
He knew Lee could be one of those players who could break it.
“Thirty years of coaching basketball, I kind of know someone who has the goods and who doesn’t,” Kelly Raymond said.
He said he remembered Lee when he was playing at the youth level, at different camps “either you’re a gym rat or you’re not, I could see he had it in him.”
“He’s just a very nice high school basketball player,” he said.
Lee began dressing for varsity when he was in eighth grade “and in garbage time hit two threes.”
“ My freshman year is when I consistently played on varsity,” Lee said. “ I was the 6th man as a freshman. “
Like when he was younger, Lee has his eyes set on playing at the next level, as he’s committed to Northwestern College in Iowa.
“I am going to play basketball there, and I am undecided in my major. I am going there with Max Dearborn, he plays for Byron,” Lee said. “ We played AAU together so it will be cool to play college together as well.”
Head Coach Nick Pocius called Lee a “great young man and a great human.”
“ He loves the game of basketball and puts a lot of time into his craft,” Lee said. “ He has played Varsity basketball for (four) years at K-M, and while we have had our ups and downs, Ethan is always ready to compete and put his best foot forward. Ethan will do great things in his life on and off the court.”
Lee said “that all the glory goes to my savior and lord Jesus Christ.”
“He is the most important part of my life, and he has given me the ability to play this sport in the first place,” Lee said.
Lee also thanked his parents Ryan and Heidi Lee, for helping him on his basketball journey.
“ They have sacrificed a lot, and helped me get to where I am at today,” Lee said. “They are always supporting me no matter what happens. So I’m just thankful for them.”