It’s never easy to defend a national championship, but it’s even more difficult when much of the roster that won it, did so in their final year of eligibility. Todd Golden already became a Florida legend with the Gators 2025 NCAA Tournament run, but to equal Billy Donovan’s success in Gainesville with back-to-back titles, Golden will need to win the offseason and replace his best player, Walter Clayton Jr.
Clayton was one of the best development stories of the transfer portal era, arriving at Florida after three seasons under Rick Pitino at Iona and taking his game to the next level against SEC competition. In his second season as a Gator, Clayton blossomed into a First-Team All-American and the Final Four’s Most Oustanding Player, and now Golden is looking to the Northeast for another mid-major superstar to lead his program. The only problem is that Pitino is after him too.
Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee visiting Florida Gators
Princeton point guard Xaivian Lee has been slightly overlooked in this transfer portal cycle, but after averaging 16.9 points, 5.5 assists, and 6.1 rebounds as a junior, the 6-foot-4 point guard has still managed to draw high-major attention. On Tuesday, he visited Florida as the Gators attempt to land the Ivy League star in a transfer portal battle with St. John’s.
A skilled passer, Lee’s game is far from a carbon copy of Clayton’s, but if he lands in Gainesville he’ll be capable of filling that role and give the Gators a chance to repeat, if not as national champs, at least as SEC Tournament winners.
Like Clayton, Lee’s athleticism is underrated, but he still won’t be an elite-level athlete if he lands in the SEC. He even struggled with the physicality of the Ivy League, shooting just 53.4 percent at the rim (30th percentile according to CBBanalytics.com). For context, Clayton shot 64.1 percent at the rim in his final season at Iona and 67 percent at the rim last season.
Clayton is the superior shot-making and was when he entered the portal out of Iona, but Lee’s 99th percentile 37.3 percent assist rate to just a 12.3 percent turnover rate is an elite skill that Clayton didn’t possess then and never developed to that level. Regardless of his finishing at the rim, if Lee can beat defenders off the dribble, which he should be able to do with his quickness and tight handle, he’ll be an impact point guard wherever he ends up.
With Clayton, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard all lost to graduation, Lee should be Golden’s top portal priority to play next to rising senior Denzel Aberdeen in the backcourt. The Gators have yet to add a player from the portal in the wake of their championship celebration, but pairing Lee with rising junior forward Thomas Haugh, his high school teammate, would be the perfect step towards a title defense in 2025-26.