Making a catch-all thread for Lee-specific topics (e.g. NBA draft stuff).
Super-complimentary post from DraftExpress/ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (the Mel Kiper of basketball). Calls Xaivian “arguably the most creative player with the ball in his hands in the college game.”
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman on “the players who’ve moved the needle the most through 10-15 games.”
Updated projected draft range:* Second round
After triple-doubling in a road win earlier in the month at Saint Joseph’s, Xaivian Lee powered Princeton past Rutgers over the weekend with 22 points, 11 assists and six boards.
He’s become one of the nation’s most creative guards with his ball-handling and constant change of speed/direction. Even with questions about his shooting consistency or athleticism/frame in traffic, they shouldn’t negate his ability to continue putting pressure on the defense with speed and relentless shiftiness that creates gravity and playmaking opportunities.
While he’s not going to offer much off the ball, NBA teams can at least start to picture a change-of-pace guard who can set up teammates. The fact that he’s shooting 41.1 percent on pull-ups is also an encouraging sign that could help Lee score and offset the struggles he’s likely to have separating and finishing at the rim.
I saw Harper at the RAC yesterday. He is a big fan of Xaivian’s game.
They should workout together during the pre-draft process. It’d be great for both of them.
I didn’t know until recently that Harper’s mother is Filipino. There’s a growing fraternity of Asian descent basketball players who are in touch with each other.
For example, Jared McCain was at the game today - I’m guessing he knows Xaivian through a YouTube documentarian called “Nickinthecutt,” who has done videos about him and Lee.
A popular YouTube channel did a breakdown of Xaivian’s crafty moves:
Also, a bunch of NBA scouts were at the Harvard game. Glad he played great (until the final minute):
Amid whispers about his return for a senior year, the NBA draft site No Ceilings did a detailed analysis of Xaivian’s game. Very complimentary overall (the writer thinks Lee deserves late-first consideration) but also honest about his weaknesses.
Looking around at various draft boards: Lee is 52 on Bleacher Report. 55 on Tankathon. 51 on SI’s Draft Digest. 51 on NBA Draft Room. No Ceilings has him at 40, which is the highest I’ve seen.
With a strong finish, Lee may very well be drafted. But to be a 1st rounder, he probably needs another season with better shooting, better team success and a stronger physique. But who knows what happens in the final two months? He might go nuclear and carry this team to great things.
Pretty solid scouting report IMO. He maybe could use some Jay Wright jump-stop-in-the-lane and pass or shoot practice to mitigate some of his finishing issues. Or if he could work on his runner/float game that would complement the speedy drives down the lane.
Defense is just going to take a lot of focus on fundamentals, I think. He’s athletically capable of staying in front of people.
Kentucky is involved with Princeton guard transfer, sources tell KSR+. Lee is entering the transfer portal with a Do Not Contact tag.
Sounds like he’s made up his mind. He wanted to play in the NCAA tournament these past two years and didn’t get to do that at Princeton. I’ll certainly be rooting for him at Kentucky and in the NBA eventually.
I hope Dalen stays now that he can dominate the ball.
Is there a little secondary gain for the program since Caden had an off year?
If he stays, he’ll probably be the POY again. Just a bummer that his injuries derailed what should have been a “Redeem Team” year.
He and Xaivian clearly wanted to run it back for a 2023-type postseason run.
“Kentucky ‘is involved with’ Princeton guard transfer.”
From the Ivy League to a world where money talks but people can’t.
A certain Princeton coach lived in Kentucky as a teenager.
I see Xavian has posted a note
to the Princeton community.
Classy move from a classy kid,
bit it does mean he has decided
to move on. Godspeed!
Where is it posted? Thnx!
Xaivian is one of the most talented and entertaining basketball players to ever wear the Princeton uniform. He brought joy to the court and to the fans and was a major factor in attendance at games surging. Allegiance to the team in my household doubled as my wife was transformed from someone who occassionally attended games to a screaming fanatic who didn’t miss a single game, mostly due to “mop top” as she affectionally calls him. The announcement that he was hitting the portal hurt my heart.
At the same time, I posted here after the dismal home loss to Dartmouth that X might just be the final nail in the coffin for the Princeton basketball that most of us came to know and love. Both of these things can be true. Search Xaivian on social media and you will find scores of highlight reels of him scoring on amazing, ankle-breaking step-backs and wild spinning drives. You’ll see some terrific no-look passes that resulted in scores. You won’t see the many drives that ended in wild misses or crazy turnovers. You won’t see the rest of the players standing around near the sidelines waiting for Xaivian to make a hero move.
This is a big blow but, assuming it doesn’t lead to a parade of other departures, I don’t think this is fatal. Yale survived–and thrived–after Danny Wolf left for a big bag of cash at Michigan. Princeton basketball can survive this. Who knows, if Xaivian succeeds at the next level (wherever that may be), it may even help recruiting.
The problematic issues you mentioned, combined with maybe not the best leadership seemed to really hurt the Tigers this year. Getting behind early was a chronic problem and some of that is on the team leaders. Lee is a great player and fun to watch, but I think Princeton has a good chance to be better next year.
Concur on all points. Great posts.
Instagram. I don’t have an account but someone reposted on X.
Thank you!
For sure. Barring the unexpected departure of Pierce, I fully expect the team to improve its Ivy record next year. This year’s squad was a two-man act and one of those two was not himself. Just having a healthy Caden, a fully unleashed Davis, and more experienced versions of Hicke, Happy, Abdullahi, Stanton et al. is going to make us stronger overall. Especially in league play.
That said, I’m really going to miss having an elite talent like Xaivian on the team. He’s a human highlight reel and the kind of star that can win you games over high major teams without the need for flukey 3pt shooting or whatnot. I’ll always wonder what this team could have done in March with a healthy Lee and Pierce in 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Still looking forward to watching Lee play, wherever he ends up. Pitt PG Jaland Lowe just committed to Kentucky, so I suspect Xaivian will not be going there after all.