TO THE POINT

From being blasted for his unsportsmanlike behavior in the Midwest regional final in March to appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated in November, point guard Arthur Lee of Stanford experienced the pros and cons of being in the national media spotlight in 1998.

In the coming year, the North Hollywood High graduate would like to be known simply as a team leader who helped Stanford win its first NCAA basketball title since 1942.

“I just want to be a great college player and help the team go as far as it can go,” Lee said. “I just want to be the best player I can be and help this team be the best it can be.”

Lee, a 6-foot-1 senior, played a huge role in Stanford’s run to the Final Four last season.

He scored 13 of his 26 points in the final 2:04 of a 79-77 victory over Rhode Island in the Midwest regional final and he had 26 points in an 86-85 overtime loss to eventual national champion Kentucky in the Final Four semifinals.

Lee hit a fall-away three-point shot with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter against Kentucky to send the game into overtime, but he might be best remembered for giving the choke sign on national television as Tyson Wheeler of Rhode Island missed three consecutive free throws during the final minute.

The gesture was out of character for Lee--described by many as a quiet young man--whopublicly apologized for his behavior.

“If I was in my right mind, there’s no way that would have happened,” he said. “I’m sure everyone in the whole world could see I was intense and just gone.”

Said his father, also named Arthur, “It happened in the heat of passion and he knows it was wrong. We live and we learn.”

Lee, who expects to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communications in June, received a host of preseason accolades in addition to appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s college basketball issue.

He was selected a candidate for the John Wooden, James Naismith and Oscar Robertson awards, all symbolic of the nation’s best college player. He was also chosen a preseason All-American by CBS Sportsline.

“It was flattering, to say the least,” Lee said of appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. “It brought a whole lot of recognition to myself and the program.”

Stanford (9-2) was the No. 5-ranked team in the nation in the USA Today-ESPN poll entering a game against Temple on Tuesday night in the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland, despite playing much of the season without injured players Jason Collins, Ryan Mendez and Michael McDonald.

Collins, a 6-10 redshirt freshman from Harvard-Westlake High, is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated right wrist.

Mendez, a 6-7 junior, has missed the last six games with an injured left knee.

McDonald, a 6-foot sophomore and Lee’s backup at point guard, has missed the last 10 games with a sprained foot.

Lee, who is averaging 10.9 points and 5.2 assists a game, has been required to play more minutes because of the injuries, but he’s not complaining.

He’s looking forward to Stanford’s Pacific 10 Conference opener against Oregon State on Saturday and says the Cardinal will be that much stronger when Mendez and McDonald return.

He knows there are no guarantees when it comes to the NCAA tournament, however.

“There’s no doubt you have to be good and lucky [to win the NCAA title],” he said. “There’s no way you’re going to win it just by being good.

“There are plenty of good teams that get beat in the tournament every year.”