SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Former Wofford men's basketball forward Lee Skinner will begin his professional basketball career in Austria, signing a contract to play for WBC Raiffeisen Wels, the club announced on Monday.
 
Skinner signed a two-year contract with the Austrian team and will join the club in August.

"I couldn't be happier for Lee. He has worked tirelessly to put himself in this position and will continue his career in Europe where he will make that organization better, just as he made our program better," said Wofford head coach Mike Young. "He will go down as quite possibly the finest communicator and teammate that we have ever had during my time at Wofford. He is a champion and a wonderful man."
 
The club team – based in Wels, Austria - competes annually in the Austrian Basketball League and also participates in the Austrian Basketball Cup and Eurocup. The team won the Austrian National Championship in 2009 and captured the Austrian Cup title in 2006.
 
Skinner averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a senior this past season. He started all 35 games, scoring in double figures 19 times while averaging 29.6 minutes per contest. In the SoCon Tournament, he averaged 14.3 points and shot 62.5 percent (15-24) on the way to being named SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player. In the championship game against Furman, he scored a career-high 17 points.
 
A two-time All-Southern Conference selection, Skinner was a first-team selection by both the coaches and media in 2014-15. He was also a member of the NABC All-District 22 Second Team.
 
A native of the Chicago suburb of Lombard, Skinner completed his career with 1,242 points, 914 rebounds and 269 assists, ranking 10th in school history in career rebounds and 22nd on the all-time scoring list. He and Karl Cochran each played 133 career games, setting the new program record.