Even though the confetti has just barely stopped falling from the Florida Gators’ National Championship victory the coaching staff already needs to be on the ball when it comes to building next year’s roster as the transfer portal has already been open for weeks. While the coaches have been putting almost all their efforts towards the Tournament run that ended successfully they have also had their finger on the pulse of possible targets, and one name is thought to be heavily in the mix to take over the Walter Clayton role in 2025-26.
Xaivian Lee from Princeton.
Lee is one of the top names in the transfer portal after completing his third season at Princeton. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Lee wasn’t a heavily recruited player out of high school though he was able to land at Princeton, historically one of the strongest teams in the Ivy League. He was able to play a reserve role as freshman, but saw his role explode as a sophomore in 2023-24, averaging 17.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists to help lead a Princeton team that finished 69th in KenPom.
Just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, Lee followed that up with an excellent performance this past season averaging 16.9 points per game while improving his assist number to 5.5 while also hitting 37% from three. Given these two productive seasons in a strong Ivy League, Lee instantly became one of the top guards available in the portal and someone who the Gators have honed in on. In addition to the proven Ivy League productivity, the point guard Lee also stands at 6’4” and 180 pounds possessing solid size and length that should play up to a higher level.
One of the things that Florida’s staff will like about Lee is the fact that he is able to shoulder a massive offensive load. After Golden’s first year in Gainesville he was open about wanting “higher usage” players in year two which led to him to go after Walter Clayton and Zyon Pullin, two players that were capable of having the ball in their hands a bunch while being able to take a lot of shots. Lee was 75th in the entire country in usage rate and 156th in percentage of his team’s shots last season, which could be a nice replacement for Walter Clayton who was 366th and 315th in these categories as a reference point.
These numbers speak to the kind of player Lee is–someone best with the ball in his hands trying to break down a defender one on one whether in isolation, off a switch in pick and roll, or off a handoff with “zoom” action. A whopping 45% of Lee’s possessions came in pick and roll and 14% of his total possessions came in isolation last season, showcasing a player that is as capable as anyone in the country in handling a heavy offensive load.
Another element of Lee’s game Florida will be interested in is his ability to hit the stepback jumper–something they just enjoyed a whole bunch with Walter Clayton. Lee took 115 three-pointers off the dribble last season and hit 41% of them which is a simply incredible mark and one that has NBA teams starting to take interest.
Not just a scorer, Lee was 19th in the country in assist rate last year. Many of his assists came when defenses had to react to his dribble penetration with late rotations, and his teammates got to benefit a ton from dump off passes around the rim or wide open catch and shoot attempts generated by Lee.
Given Lee’s resume he is going to be one of the heaviest recruited players in the portal, but Florida will have a great selling point coming off a National Championship and with the starting point guard position available. Look for the Gators to be one of the leaders in this recruitment.
Flames erupt from the backboard during the first half as the Florida Gators mens basketball team hosts the University of Kentucky Wildcats at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Florida. February 22nd, 2023. Gator Country Photo by David Bowie.