University of Detroit Mercy Athletics

Lee Knorek had two acts in his Titans basketball career as the first true big man at the University of Detroit.
 
Knorek, a 6-foot-7 center from Rossford, Ohio, came to the University of Detroit in 1942-43 after starting his collegiate basketball career at DeSales University in Ohio. In his first season playing for the Detroit cagers, Knorek scored the second-highest point total in school history, recording 243 points as a sophomore during the 1942-43 season. At that time, it trailed only Bob Calihan's single-season points record.
 
Like many during that period of history, Knorek went off to serve his country in World War II and served the next three years as a Navy Lieutenant. He entered the war in June 1943 and was discharged in June 1946 and during that time, he was positioned as an underwater demolition swimmer. Knorek was declared too tall -- by one inch -- to serve in the army. He spent one year overseas, serving in Okinawa, Japan and in China.
 
While in the service, Knorek continued to play basketball. He played with the Great Lakes (1943-44) and Pearl Harbor Navy Yard (1944-45) teams during his time in the Navy.
 
Following his return from the armed forced, it was rumored that Knorek would either enroll the University of Toledo, sign a professional basketball contract or drop out of competition altogether. However, Knorek opted for a fourth option, returning to the University of Detroit to play another season with the Titans.
 
And he wasn't the lone Knorek to make the trip back to Detroit from Ohio. His younger brother, Mike Knorek, also earned a scholarship to Detroit, and a third family member, Joe Wright, Lee's cousin, joined the squad for the 1946-47 season.
 
Knorek picked up right where he left off in his final season in Detroit scoring 22 points against Michigan State, a record at that time for a Titans' player against the Spartans. He finished the 1946-47 season with 208 points, which was second on the team, even though he only played in 15 games. But he wasn't just known for his scoring.
 
"Knorek would be a great high school basketball player if he never scored a point," said John Shada, who was the head coach of the 1946-47 squad, in a release. "He is a tremendously important player to us because of his ball-handling and passing, and because he's good enough under the backboards to enable us to control the ball a large part of the time."
 
Knorek scored in double figures in 12 of his 15 games during the 1946-47 season, reaching a high of 25 points. He became just the second Titan cager to score 200 points or more in two seasons. When he left Detroit midway through the season, he was second on the all-time scoring list behind Calihan with 451 points. He was also named to the Detroit Free Press All-State College Team after his 1942-43 season.
 
Midway through the 1946-47 season, Knorek signed a professional contract with the New York Knickerbockers. He played in 22 games with the Knicks and in one of his very first games, he netted 21 points in a 76-72 triumph over the Washington Capitols.
 
In four seasons playing professionally, Knorek averaged 6.6 points per game. He played in all 48 games in 1947-48, finishing with 259 points and was third on the Knicks in 1948-49 with 443 points in 60 games. He finished his career with 873 points in three seasons and retired from the game after playing in just one game for the Baltimore Bullets in 1949-50.