Duke basketball will not be the landing spot for one of the top guards in the transfer portal, as Princeton transfer guard Xaivian Lee did not include Duke in his final three schools.
Lee will be deciding between Florida, Kansas, and St. John's.
NEWS: Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee, one of the top guards in the portal, is down to three schools, he told @LeagueRDY:
— Sam Kayser (@247HSHoops) April 15, 2025
St. John’s
Kansas
Florida
He averaged 16.9PPG, 6.1RPG and 5.5APG this season. First Team All-Ivy League. pic.twitter.com/uTXzmpfGYb
The Blue Devils were one of the early suitors for Lee's services, but are now out of the race and will look for new options to replace this past season's backcourt pieces.
The former Princeton guard spent three seasons with the Tigers, earning All-Ivy League First Team honors in 2024 and 2025.
The 6'4 180-pound guard averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.2 steals a night on 43.9% shooting from the field and 36.6% shooting from three-point range in 2024-25. He set career highs this past season in minutes per game, three-point percentage, rebounds per game, assists per game, and steals per game.
Lee is listed as the #33 overall transfer and #7 point guard in the portal per On3's Transfer Portal Industry Rankings.
With Lee no longer considering Duke, Jon Scheyer and the rest of his staff will now look elsewhere to solidify backcourt replacements for 2025-26. The program will lose most, if not all, of its guards from 2024-25.
Sion James is out of eligibility. Tyrese Proctor is likely headed to the NBA Draft. Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans each have intriguing decisions to make regarding the transfer portal or a return to Durham, and Evans has a shot at being drafted if he declares for the 2025 NBA Draft.
However, the Blue Devils could potentially make a late splash in the 2025 recruiting class, as four-star point guard Acaden Lewis recently decommitted from Kentucky. Lewis ultimately chose Mark Pope's program over Duke and UConn, and Duke reportedly believes it has a shot to land Lewis.
The offseason has been motionless for the Duke program so far, as no key player has announced their decision regarding next season. Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach are almost certainly headed to the NBA Draft, but most other key guys have options on the table that they each have to weigh.
But, dominoes will likely begin to fall sooner rather than later.