By Robert Lastella
An adjustment period was needed for Florida Gators guard Xaivian Lee, but now he has begun to find his groove towards the end of non-conference play.
Through the first five games of the season, Lee failed to shoot better than 40% from the field or 30% from beyond the arc; however, that has started to change.
Over his last four games, he has done that twice, including arguably his best performance of the year in the Orange Bowl Classic victory over George Washington. Lee finished with a season-high 24 points on 54% shooting from the field and 50% shooting from beyond the arc (4-8), also adding six rebounds and four assists.
Lee was able to impact the game in a variety of ways, cashing in from deep at a 50% rate for the first time this season, while also attacking the rim and drawing fouls, notching a season high 10 free throw attempts.
The shooting slump to start the season tested Lee’s confidence, but he hasn’t let the struggles overcome him, and over the past few games, he has started to break out of his early-season cold streak.
“I always try to keep my confidence high, but you know, whatever's going on, it's definitely tested the past couple of weeks, but I just let them fly, trust in my work and my teammates, and whatever happens, happens,” Lee said.
Lee was a big addition for Todd Golden this offseason, and he was expected to play a major role in replacing the departed scoring from the national champion team a year ago. In 2024, while at Princeton, Lee earned first-team all-Ivy honors, averaging 16.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 5.5 APG, while shooting 43% from the field and 36% from three.
It hasn’t been that level of success consistently yet for Lee, who is shooting 29.1% from the field and 23.6% from beyond the arc. Over his last four games, he has been on an upward trend.
There is no blueprint for jumping up from an Ivy League team to the defending National champions, especially when the non-conference slate doesn’t provide many “tune-up” games early on to help acclimate to a new environment.
According to Lee, right off the bat, he has noticed a faster pace of play than what he was used to in the Ivy League, and he has tried to adjust for that with a high level of effort.
“So far, just, you know, we play a really good team every single night, and you have to bring your A-game; when you don't, you need to have effort every single night in and out, and you've got to win games…definitely a lot more athletic, faster pace of play,” Lee said.
Lee heating up over the last four games is a major positive for the Gators; they walked away with wins in only two of those games. In the two losses, Lee struggled, and there wasn’t enough offense around him to make up for it, while in the wins, he was the only Gator with 20 or more points.
While Lee’s success will play a major role in the Gators title defense aspirations, for this squad to truly have a shot at their goals, they will need everyone around Lee to heat up as well. This year, the Gators are shooting just 26.8% from beyond the arc as a team, with a majority of their points coming on the interior from Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon.
The three-point shot is a major part of the Gators’ offense, and Lee doesn’t think his team will change its game plan to move away from it; rather, he believes they will break out of their slump, and the offense will come together piece by piece.
“I don't think we're ever going to turn down the open ones. I think as a team, we have so many strengths, and obviously, shooting hasn't been one so far, but I think we know we're all capable of making shots. Especially us guards, we've been shooting really poorly, but things are only going to get better from here. I think we're all gonna make a lot more shots in the future, and I think we're on our floor as a team, honestly, because we can only control what we can control, and I think when the other stuff starts to come together, we will be very dangerous,” Lee said.
The Gators will have three tune-up games to close out their non-conference slate, facing off against Saint Francis, Colgate, and Dartmouth, before heading to Missouri to open up SEC play on January 3rd. The next three games will be crucial, as they will be the final opportunity for this team to gel before having to put it all together in the grit and grind of conference play.
Following the Orange Bowl MVP Award, Xaivian Lee is now on this exclusive Trading Card from Topps.