Senior captain plays an inspirational role

This weekend, when Columbia takes the floor for two crucial matchups against Princeton and Penn, most of the attention will be focused on the Lions’ stars. Behind the scenes, though, it is rarely that simple, and this Light Blue squad is no different.

Senior Steve Egee is not a star, at least by traditional definitions. He is not the team’s leading scorer or rebounder, and he most often makes his contributions off the bench.

Yet despite only starting one game so far this season, players and coaches alike speak glowingly of the team’s senior co-captain, pointing to him as the heart and soul of a program that is on the verge of its second consecutive winning season after only two others in the previous 27 years.

“I don’t know if there’s a more well-liked guy on any sports team that I’ve been around,” head coach Kyle Smith said. “He’s what you want, to say, ‘that guy went to Columbia and he played basketball.’”

More than once has Smith responded to a question about his senior guard by predicting a “Steve Egee for President, 2036” campaign. His teammates describe him in much humbler terms, although the general idea seems to be the same.

“Even though he’s one of my best friends, he’s probably my biggest role model in life up to this point,” junior Dean Kowalski said. “I admire him a lot.”

“Steve’s role is, I would say, one of the most important on the team,” junior Brian Barbour, the team’s other captain, said. “He brings senior leadership and a calming effect. Steve sets the model for how a student should work and still play basketball.”

Egee joined a program that was in many ways quite different from the one he plays for today. Recruited by former Lion coach Joe Jones, he played in all 28 games and started seven games his freshman year when then-starting point guard Pat Foley went down to injury. In the 2009-10 season, Egee appeared in 25 games.

That off-season, though, Jones left to become associate head coach at Boston College, and Smith came in from St. Mary’s to take the reins. Since then, Egee has seen more limited action, appearing in 11 games a year ago and 13 so far this year.

Ask him about the transition, though, and Egee has nothing but good things to say.

“Coach Smith and [assistant] coach [Carlin] Hartman have done a tremendous job of developing a positive culture and a winning culture here,” Egee said. “Although I don’t get as many opportunities on the court, that’s okay, because I think I contribute in a lot of other ways and I think my coaches and my teammates see that.”

Indeed they do, and their words say more about his impact than any stat sheet could ever explain.

“He doesn’t always do it vocally, but he’ll lead through example,” Barbour said. “Coach Smith calls it ‘being a pro’ as far as work ethic, and that’s what he is. Having Steve be that kind of role model for the younger guys is a huge thing for the program and as well as our team right now.”

“He’s a captain by title, and he certainly is by practice,” Kowalski added. “He doesn’t start, and sometimes he doesn’t even get in, but everyone looks up to him no matter what. Everyone respects him, coaches, players, training staff, everyone.”

Egee himself sees his role as a sort of caretaker of the program, one person in a long line of Columbia basketball players who have put their mark on the program.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for this program and its history, and I am just trying to do my part to make sure it continues on that upward trajectory,” Egee said. “Guys like Max Craig, who came in and made this program better—I looked up to him, as well as guys like Kevin Bulger, Pat Foley, and Niko Scott before him.”

Even those he looked up to were impressed by Egee’s contributions to the program.

“What differentiates Steve from others is his selflessness and commitment to always strive for the success of the team before anything else,” Craig said in an email.

“Steve’s been a great story,” Foley said. “He’s done a lot of little things behind that scenes that have really have helped the program. He’s got an incredible attitude, and brings a lot of enthusiasm to the table, and those kind of things that are intangibles that you need in a program.”

This year, the Lions have continued that trajectory, taking a 14-10 record into the final six games of the season, despite losing five conference games by a combined 17 points. Yet, while there may be only a few weeks left in his basketball career, it is clear that Egee is enjoying every minute of it.

“I think every day we’re taking incremental steps towards winning a championship, and it’s great to be a part of,” Egee said. “I’m honored to be on this team, and to be considered a leader on this team is an honor. It’s very special, and I try not to take it lightly.”