Morning Coffee: Louisville basketball's Damion Lee gets an NBA shot with Atlanta Hawks

Positive news has been in short supply for Louisville basketball lately, but here's a dose:

Nearly two years after the end of his brief career at the University of Louisville, Damion Lee is finally an NBA player.

Lee was signed this week to a 10-day contract by the Atlanta Hawks, arriving out of the G-League for his NBA debut Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And it went well. Lee scored 13 points and snagged four rebounds in about 17 minutes. His first NBA basket was a 3-pointer.

Lee became a fan favorite during his one season at Louisville, a season that will be remembered for the school self-enforcing a postseason ban that prevented him from playing in the NCAA Tournament. He went undrafted in 2016 after earning second-team All-ACC honors.

His professional career to this point has been spent in the G-League – he has averaged 16.4 points through 54 games – and also recovering from a season-ending knee injury suffered in December 2016.

Good luck to ya, Damion.

Social Hour

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What We're Reading

It's Tournament time. And here's a few links from Boise on UK's team: One on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's development, another on Sacha Killeya-Jones and another previewing the Cats' first-round game against Davidson.

Tuesday night went well for Louisville basketball, which had a spirited crowd watch the Cards advance in the NIT.

Former UK coach Tubby Smith's tenure at Memphis has ended, giving way likely to Penny Hardaway.

I spent Wednesday afternoon catching an exciting game at the KHSAA Sweet 16 – and I have this story to show for it.

And I spent Tuesday night covering WKU's NIT victory over Boston College -- and I have this story to show for it.

Gentry Estes: 502-582-4205; gestes@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @Gentry_Estes. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/gentrye