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By Marc D'Amico June 27, 2008

Athletic. Moves Well. Smart. Mature. These are the words Otis Smith and Stan Van Gundy used to describe Courtney Lee just minutes after he was chosen as the newest member of the Orlando Magic.

From the get-go, Smith had a good idea of what he was going to do with the Magic’s 22nd pick. If Courtney Lee was available (which wasn’t a sure thing), he was their man. If he was already off the board, Smith planned on moving down a few spots in the draft to get one of the other players he had pegged as possible draftees.

As it would turn out, a little magic came into play and Lee fell into Smith’s lap at 22. Now, the team is armed with a player who averaged 20.4 ppg his senior year, shot the three at a 40 percent clip over four years in college and was named the 2007-08 Sun Belt Player of the Year.

“He’s a guy that we like, that we will fit with what we do and how we play, that can defend the position,” said Smith. “So we picked a guy that I think can come in and play.”

Coming in and playing is one thing. Coming in and contributing is another. Head Coach Stan Van Gundy is confident that Lee has the ability to contribute to the team in many different ways – especially on defense.

“He can really shoot the ball, which obviously we like and I like a great deal,” Van Gundy said. “But the thing I really liked when I watched him on film … he plays the game very much under control. He’s got good lateral quickness. He’s strong. He’s athletic. He should be a guy that defends well.”

Lee is on the same page with Van Gundy and Smith in that regard. He addressed the Orlando media today and made it clear that he feels he can come in and contribute to the Magic this year.

“I mean, he (Van Gundy) is very assertive and he likes to be very aggressive on the defensive end, and I feel like I can bring that intensity on the defensive end,” Lee said. “Just be able to come in and contribute right away, having the skill level and being able to go to school for four years and get the experience to come in and be able to step in right away.”

In the weeks leading up to the draft, all the chatter about Lee was that he could shoot, shoot, and, well… shoot. But after his first 14 hours in the Magic organization, it’s clear that he is regarded as more than a shooter. It sounds like the Magic, and Lee himself, picture him as a great all around player -- one that will compete to fill the starting shooting guard role and aim to be the perimeter defensive stopper that the Magic have been looking for.