Xaivian Lee commits to Florida as St. John's basketball continues point guard search

The St. John’s basketball program will have to pivot to a new point guard option as its highly sought after transfer target, Princeton’s Xaivian Lee, announced his commitment to Florida on Wednesday night.

Lee took visits to St. John’s, Kansas, and Florida over the last week, but his decision came down to the Red Storm or the Gators. However, the reigning National Champions were always thought to have an advantage for a majority of his recruitment.

He made the announcement official on social media.

It is a major blow for the Johnnies who were hoping the 6-foot-4 guard from Canada would fill the void left in the backcourt by Kadary Richmond. Instead, Rick Pitino will have to look elsewhere for his lead guard.

The two-time First Team All-Ivy League selection averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists last season while shooting nearly 44-percent from the floor and 37-percent from 3-point range. He was widely considered as one of the best players in the transfer portal this offseason.

St. John’s got off to a quick start in the portal by landing Arizona State guard Joson Sanon and Providence forward Bryce Hopkins and added to its roster nearly two weeks later with the commitment of Stanford guard Oziyah Sellers.

The Red Storm remain heavily connected with North Carolina guard Ian Jackson as well as 4-star guard Acaden Lewis, who recently decommitted from Kentucky and took a visit to New York this week.

Lee had one major connection to Florida behind standout Thomas Haugh, playing with him during his high school career at Perkiomen School, and will have the chance to be reunited if Haugh withdraws from the NBA Draft and returns to college basketball.

Expect St. John’s to quickly pivot with the deadline for players to enter the transfer portal approaching quickly on April 22.