Pikeville – Take a minute and think about someone you've encountered whose undeniably positive and uplifting demeanor echoes throughout any room. Take that energy, add a dash of confidence, finish it off with a layer of optimism and you've got the one and only David Lee.

After spending four years at UPIKE playing basketball, working athletic events, studying business and sports management, and growing into adulthood - Lee is off to chase down greatness. Merging his love for the game of basketball with his passion for helping others, Lee secured an opportunity to serve on the coaching staff at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. as a graduate assistant.

When you talk to David nowadays you get the sense of a bright young man with the confidence and demeanor to launch a career in coaching. It wasn't always that way, and his story is one that brings with it a sense of pride in not only UPIKE but the impact of college athletics in general.

Cheng-Wei Lee or "David" as he's known by many, was born in Kao Hsiung, Taiwan. At three years old, Lee up and moved across the globe, settling with his parents in New Albany, Indiana. Basketball wasn't on the radar for David as a kid and it wouldn't be until he returned to his native Taiwan in fourth grade that he would take notice. "We would just go out and play street ball," said Lee "Not like serious but that's kinda where it started."

High school brought challenges for David Lee, "I was failing classes, not playing basketball, I just wasn't in a good spot." Lee decided the solution was basketball, and further, basketball in the United States. Lee returned to the US right around his junior year and found a spot at Wesley Christian School in Allen, KY.

Wesley Christian is a prep school with a reputation of success in basketball, fielding both a national and varsity squad. With little experience in organized basketball, Lee found a spot on the varsity team where he showed signs of the workhorse persona he would eventually take on. Between helping the national team in practice and competing with the varsity guys, Lee saw a positive change in his attitude as well as his academics and basketball was the driving force.

In 2016, David wasn't a top national prospect and offers weren't exactly piling up in the mailbox for the high school senior to pursue his aspirations of playing basketball in college. His opportunity would come almost by chance, and would prove to be one of the most impactful moments of his life.

Headed up by legendary Head Coach Kelly Wells, in 2016 the UPIKE men's basketball program had risen to the top tier ranks in the NAIA. A national championship in 2011, followed by national tournament appearances in five of the next six seasons and tack on a pair of conference championships, the Bears were in the conversation year after year.

So now that we've got some background on UPIKE at the time, bring it back to London, KY in 2016. Then assistant coaches Tigh Compton and Evan Faulkner were scouting another player on the national team of Wesley Christian at the Nissan Legacy Classic. David Lee was on the bench, supporting his guys. "I mean I just wanted to be there and watch courtside with my teammates," Lee said.

Following the game, Faulkner and Compton talked with Wesley Christian's coaches asking about David. Something in that conversation sparked interest from the duo who offered an opportunity. After noticing his energy and talking about his role with the team, Lee was offered a scholarship to come to UPIKE as a student-manager and a member of the JV team.

"I was nervous going into it, but this opportunity was exactly what I needed." said Lee, "I didn't know what to expect but I knew I wanted to work my way towards varsity reps."

David wasn't quite the radiant human hype machine he is today as he began his time at UPIKE, instead he said he credits his transformation to the program and the university as a whole. "One of our GAs, Colt was on me to get better, if I wanted to be a part of this team, I needed to work harder than anyone else." Looking back, Lee talks fondly about the guidance of the coaching staff and professors, learning everything from how to tie a tie to balancing basketball and classes.

Fast forward four years and the young man headed to Georgetown is a household name in UPIKE Athletics. After spending four years as a manager and part of the junior varsity squad, David Lee's bright and driven nature earned him a reputation that made him a favorite amongst coaches and peers. On the sidelines, Lee is a tried and true teammate and the most excited guy stage right of the coaches.

This past season, David Lee saw his first varsity minutes and even hit his first bucket in live action. Now though, he puts his focus toward a future in coaching, landing an impressive graduate assistantship with NCAA DI Georgetown University women's basketball. Coming from an NAIA school, it took determination to connect with the right people to put him on the radar. It all started with emails, hundreds of them, to NCAA programs across the country looking for GAs. It was Johnathon Goldberg, UT-Chatanooga's assistant women's basketball coach, who offered a pair of very important contacts.

Steve Yang, who served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Georgetown and is the co-founder of the Asian Coaches Association was one of those contacts. Yang offered guidance to David Lee and put him on the radar of the Hoyas coaching staff. Lee remembers Yang telling him he needed an endorsement, someone in the coaching community. That endorsement came from non-other than Kelly Wells. A national champion coach with years of experience and success and a staple in the coaching community, Wells' text to James Howard was well-received.

David got the call he'd been waiting for, and left the mountains of Appalachia to buckle down in Washington, D.C. With the Hoyas, Lee will be studying for his master's degree in Sports Industry and Management and serving as a graduate assistant on the women's basketball staff with his primary duties involving player development, operations, and recruiting.