Robert Morris' Tony Lee won the Northeast Conference Player of the Year award and the Colonials' Mike Rice was voted NEC Coach of the Year today in balloting by the league's coaches.

Lee also was named to the all-NEC first team; teammates Jeremy Chappell and A.J. Jackson made the second team.

Lee, a senior guard from Charlestown High School in Boston, has had a productive four seasons at Robert Morris after being recruited by former RMU coach Mark Schmidt, who's now at St. Bonaventure.

"Robert Morris has been good to me since my freshman year,'' Lee said. "Robert Morris has helped me a ton. And I've been good to Robert Morris.

"When it's all said and done, I will look at coach Rice and say, 'Thank you.' And I'll also call coach Schmidt and say thank you to him for giving me this opportunity.

"And when it's all said and done, I can look at Robert Morris and say, 'Thank you.'"