Last Friday, January 17th, JPII's varsity basketball squad squared up against the Legacy Christian Academy Eagles. Coming into the game, the Cards possessed a 15-12 record, and the Eagles at 11-12. JPII, playing with a chip on their shoulder after having sophomore Blake Wilson go down with an injury against Prestonwood in their previous game, came into their first real district game ready to play. The Cards would battle for a 69-59 victory, giving coach Dan Lee his 600th win.
 
            Coach Lee attended the University of Texas at Arlington from 1988-1992. Shortly after, he received the head coaching position for Cistercian High School's freshman basketball team. After a 20-year tenure at Cistercian as the varsity head coach and, eventually, athletic director, Coach moved further south to Houston Christian High School in 2013. He stayed there for six years before ultimately coming to JPII in 2019.
 
            In Coach Lee's first season with JPII in 2019, he hit the ground running. The team, led by junior phenom guard Jaylon Tyson, finished the season with a 40-1 record and a state championship. The team's victories were by an average of 23 points and they set three records along the way; most wins in a season (40), average points per game (84.1), and most points in a single game (124 vs. Bishop Dunne). Throughout the season, JPII would crush major basketball powerhouses in Texas, such as DeSoto (W, 80-37), South Oak Cliff (W, 90-74), Waxahachie (W, 74-57), and Highland Park (W, 87-55). Keeping the momentum going the next season, the Cardinals finished with a 25-2 record, but ultimately losing to rival Bishop Lynch 58-54 in the TAPPS 6A State Semifinals. The 2021-22 season, after getting the bad taste out of their mouth from last year's ending, the Cards battled back and demolished BL 89-47, before cruising through the playoffs for their second state championship in three years.
 
            Six years into Dan Lee's stint here at JPII, he possesses a .753 win percentage, a combined record of 158-50, and four state championships. Along with many accomplishments involving the team, Coach has seen many of his players sign with Division I colleges and even go to the NBA. For example, Cleveland Cavaliers rookie Jaylon Tyson, Texas A&M Aggies forward Manny Obasecki, and Richmond Spiders forward Bryson McGlothin. As he watches his players grow both on and off the court, Coach enjoys observing what they do after they leave the high school they were at. And that does not solely apply to basketball players. Even if his players become doctors, accountants, or other occupations that do not involve basketball, Dan believes watching his former players grow is "satisfying to watch [because he] had [a] small part of development in their lives."