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In the 1990s, Lee carried his Lawrence County teams to tournaments in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Florida, and Nevada. In 1992, Lee's Cougars, the state 4A champions, defeated Jackson Murrah, the state 5A champion, 58-56, in the celebrated "Dream Game" at the JSU Assembly Center.
Lee's lengthy list of coaching honors includes multiple conference and division "Coach of the Year" awards, plus numerous area coach-of-the-year selections from the Brookhaven Daily Leader and the McComb Enterprise-Journal. Lee was recognized as the Mississippi coach of the year by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger in 1991, and by the Mississippi Association of Coaches in 1991 and 1992.
He also coached in the Mississippi All-Star game in 1992, and in the Mississippi-Alabama Classic in 1994.
Lee is also an accomplished classroom teacher, having taught math in the Lawrence County school system for 37 years. He has been named Star Teacher six times, and was Lawrence County's "Educator of the Year" in 2006. Lee still teaches math at LCHS.
He is a 1968 graduate of Pinola High School, the valedictorian of his senior class. Along with being an all-conference basketball player, he was also a state champion in the mile run. He is a 1972 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi.
Lee has been married to the former Alice Catt for 37 years. They have two adult daughters, Dawn Lee and Cassandra (David) Phillips, and a 3-year old grandson, Braysen. His parents were the late Herman and Wilma Lee of the Shivers community is Simpson County.
"Integrity, dignity, honor - those words walk with Bob every step he takes," said long-time Lawrence County High colleague Craig Davis. "Even though I know very little about basketball, and even less about math, he's been very much a role model for me and plenty of other teachers throughout our careers, and a great influence on his players and students."
Longtime administrator John A. Flynt of Newhebron states, "Bobby is an outstanding basketball coach. Having said that, he is also an outstanding math teacher.
"My philosophy as a principal to have a good school was to hire good quality people. Coach Lee was an example of that. He has been an excellent role model for his students and players.
"His passion for the game of basketball did not interfere with his classroom instruction because he gave 110% wherever he was. I can only imagine the difference he has made in the lives of so many people, shaping and molding, and giving them a vision of what they could accomplish, not only as a player or student, but with life itself."
In his spare time, Lee enjoys working in his garden and sharing the crop with the community. He has a greenhouse and starts planting seeds in January.
