No. 4 – Princeton Tigers | |
---|---|
Position | Point guard |
League | Ivy League |
Personal information | |
Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | March 12, 2004
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 171 lb (78 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
Crescent School (Toronto, Ontario) Perkiomen ( Pennsburg, Pennsylvania) |
College | Princeton (2022–present) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Xaivian Lee (born March 12, 2004) is a Canadian-American college basketball player for the Princeton Tigers of the Ivy League.
Lee played both baseball and basketball in his youth and idolized Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors. [1] When he was 13, he traveled to Buffalo, New York, to watch Princeton play Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In a 2023 interview with Sportsnet, his mother described the experience as crucial in his decision to pursue basketball: "What [could] be a possibility for him in the future became more tangible, being there, seeing that in person. I think it's a bit lovely how it came full circle." [1]
Lee initially attended Crescent School in Toronto, where he played basketball and was one of the best players in the CISAA. [1] He later attended Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. [2] Lee also played for CIA Bounce AAU on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit. [1]
The father of one of Lee's AAU teammates, former basketball player Cordell Llewellyn, contacted the recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at Princeton, Brett MacConnell, recommending that he take a look at Lee. [1] The Princeton staff later had the chance to see him play during a trip he made to the United States with his high school and AAU teams in between his junior and senior seasons. [1] "I remember texting Brett after the game and I was like, 'Oh my God. We need him right now,'" said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson. "He had all the stuff — everything you see now was there: the way he would flow through the game and his ability to make things look simple and easy. The passing, the shooting, it was all there." [1]
As a freshman during the 2022–23 season, Lee made an immediate impact as a rotation player off the bench. [3] [4] In his freshman season, he appeared in 32 games averaging 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists, helping Princeton reach the Sweet Sixteen. [1] [5] [6] He began the following season averaging 19.5 points per game, leading Princeton to a 9–1 record through their first ten games, the school's best start in a century. [7] In the conference opener against Harvard, he scored a career-high 33 points, in addition to eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, being named conference player of the week for his performance. [8] On April 5, 2024, Lee declared for the 2024 NBA draft, while retaining his college eligibility. [9] [10]
Lee participated in the 2023 FIBA U-19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, representing the Canada men's national under-19 basketball team. He averaged a team-high 14.1 points to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, helping lead Canada to a seventh-place finish. [11] [12]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022–23 | Princeton | 32 | 0 | 13.4 | .376 | .232 | .804 | 1.8 | .9 | .5 | .1 | 4.8 |
2023–24 | Princeton | 29 | 29 | 31.2 | .451 | .338 | .798 | 5.7 | 3.7 | 1.0 | .5 | 17.1 |
Lee was born in Toronto, and he is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. He is of South Korean descent. [13]
No. 4 – Princeton Tigers | |
---|---|
Position | Point guard |
League | Ivy League |
Personal information | |
Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | March 12, 2004
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 171 lb (78 kg) |
Career information | |
High school |
Crescent School (Toronto, Ontario) Perkiomen ( Pennsburg, Pennsylvania) |
College | Princeton (2022–present) |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Xaivian Lee (born March 12, 2004) is a Canadian-American college basketball player for the Princeton Tigers of the Ivy League.
Lee played both baseball and basketball in his youth and idolized Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors. [1] When he was 13, he traveled to Buffalo, New York, to watch Princeton play Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. In a 2023 interview with Sportsnet, his mother described the experience as crucial in his decision to pursue basketball: "What [could] be a possibility for him in the future became more tangible, being there, seeing that in person. I think it's a bit lovely how it came full circle." [1]
Lee initially attended Crescent School in Toronto, where he played basketball and was one of the best players in the CISAA. [1] He later attended Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. [2] Lee also played for CIA Bounce AAU on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit. [1]
The father of one of Lee's AAU teammates, former basketball player Cordell Llewellyn, contacted the recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at Princeton, Brett MacConnell, recommending that he take a look at Lee. [1] The Princeton staff later had the chance to see him play during a trip he made to the United States with his high school and AAU teams in between his junior and senior seasons. [1] "I remember texting Brett after the game and I was like, 'Oh my God. We need him right now,'" said Princeton head coach Mitch Henderson. "He had all the stuff — everything you see now was there: the way he would flow through the game and his ability to make things look simple and easy. The passing, the shooting, it was all there." [1]
As a freshman during the 2022–23 season, Lee made an immediate impact as a rotation player off the bench. [3] [4] In his freshman season, he appeared in 32 games averaging 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists, helping Princeton reach the Sweet Sixteen. [1] [5] [6] He began the following season averaging 19.5 points per game, leading Princeton to a 9–1 record through their first ten games, the school's best start in a century. [7] In the conference opener against Harvard, he scored a career-high 33 points, in addition to eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, being named conference player of the week for his performance. [8] On April 5, 2024, Lee declared for the 2024 NBA draft, while retaining his college eligibility. [9] [10]
Lee participated in the 2023 FIBA U-19 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, representing the Canada men's national under-19 basketball team. He averaged a team-high 14.1 points to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, helping lead Canada to a seventh-place finish. [11] [12]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022–23 | Princeton | 32 | 0 | 13.4 | .376 | .232 | .804 | 1.8 | .9 | .5 | .1 | 4.8 |
2023–24 | Princeton | 29 | 29 | 31.2 | .451 | .338 | .798 | 5.7 | 3.7 | 1.0 | .5 | 17.1 |
Lee was born in Toronto, and he is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. He is of South Korean descent. [13]