Nov. 1—Former Glenbard West High School teammates Braden Huff and Caden Pierce had already spent months bantering over text messages about the impending matchup between their Gonzaga and Purdue teams.
It was a fair fight until Aug. 26, when one of Pierce's ex-teammates at Princeton became Huff's newest teammate at Gonzaga. Xaivian Lee was thrown into the crosshairs when the point guard committed to Gonzaga, joining Mark Few's roster as a late 5-in-5 addition. Huff didn't wait long to create a group text message chat for the three players uniquely connected through different stages of their basketball journeys.
"Right when I committed, they threw me in a group chat," Lee said. "First thing we talked about was this game. I obviously didn't know if I was for sure going to be good then, but it's looking like I'll be good for that one at least."
Huff's relationship with Pierce goes back longer, but recency might give Lee a better idea of what to expect from the Purdue forward when he takes the floor for Matt Painter's team Monday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena.
Lee and Pierce overlapped for three seasons at Princeton, playing in 91 games for teams that combined to go 91-25 between 2022-25. Pierce was the Ivy League Freshman of the Year in 2022-23 and Player of the Year in 2023-24. Lee came on strong toward the end of his tenure with the Tigers, earning All-Ivy League First Team honors in 2024-25 while averaging 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists.
"Shoot, I might know (Pierce) better than Braden," Lee joked. "He's known him longer, but I've known him in college. It's pretty special honestly. But we've just got to keep him off the glass. He's a very talented rebounder and he's in the right spots, so we've got to make sure we get a body on him and obviously pay attention to the scout and know what they're doing on offense. But really for him, just keeping him off the glass I think."
There's a good chance Huff would've offered many of the same scouting tips on Pierce.
The Glen Elyn, Illinois , natives have known each other since fifth grade, playing on youth travel teams, the AAU Illinois Wolves and, most recently, the 2021-22 Glenbard West High squad that finished with a 37-1 record and captured the 2022 Illinois High School Association Class 4A title.
After Pierce's junior season, the 6-foot-7 forward spent a year away from competition to focus on getting an undergraduate economic degree from Princeton. In the meantime, he'd browse transfer options for his final year of basketball eligibility. Gonzaga emerged as one of Pierce's final five choices — along with Purdue, Duke, UConn and Louisville — and Huff hosted his longtime pal during a Jan. 2 recruiting visit to Spokane.
"That's my guy," Huff said. "I've known him since elementary school, played since I think fifth grade, we've been on a team together. We talked a little bit of trash, tried to get him to come here originally and that fell through. I'm excited for the matchup, I know Xaivian's got some history too with him at Princeton so it's going to be a lot of fun to see him and his family after the game."
Pierce ultimately chose Purdue and renowned coach Matt Painter. Purdue's campus in West Lafayette, Indiana, is also located just 70 miles northwest of Indianapolis, where Caden's older brother Alec is a standout wide receiver for the NFL's Colts.
"I really think (Braden) didn't want to get too involved because he wanted Caden to make the best decision for him, right?" Huff's father, Alec, said. "But yeah, I think it obviously would've been pretty cool. I think Caden's super happy where he is, I think it's a good spot for him but I think it's going to be a really interesting dynamic when the three of those guys take the court together."
The two players and their families have stayed close through the years. The Huffs joined the Pierces for one of Alec's NFL games at Lucas Oil Stadium and traveled to Chapel Hill, North Carolina , in 2019-20 to watch oldest brother Justin Pierce play basketball at North Carolina. Last year, the Pierces returned the favor, accompanying the Huffs to watch Braden and Gonzaga play UCLA at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle — a trip Alec Huff said was unrelated to Caden's ongoing recruiting process.
"They're good buds," Alec Huff said. "They were in the same social circle, same group of friends in middle school and high school."
Go figure, Huff and Pierce are also represented by the same agency, Chicago-based Priority Sports. It's not uncommon for them to train together when both are home in Illinois during the offseason.
The Gonzaga-Purdue matchup was a topic of conversation during workouts this summer and the friendly banter only continued when Lee entered the fold in August. Below Lee's commitment graphic on Instagram, Pierce commented "what is life." Lee replied, "see ya in vegas."
The fifth-year Florida transfer wasn't sure if he'd be eligible for Monday's opener, but a recent 5-in-5 ruling in California meant he'd be in the clear for the time being. Since August, Pierce has been taking barbs from both Gonzaga players in the group chat — something that probably feels a little bit like trying to defend a 2-on-1 fastbreak in transition.
"Every time we talk, I tell him we're going to win," Lee said. "He's more humble than I am, so he says nothing really back to me. We definitely have some banter about it."
Pierce and Lee have particularly fond memories of the 2022-23 season at Princeton, when the 15th-seeded Tigers stunned former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd and second-seeded Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"We were both freshmen on that team," Lee recalled. "He was rookie of the year, he had like 16 rebounds maybe against Missouri in the second round. We were on a really good team that year, then the next year we kind of both got to run the show a little bit and we were really good that season as well."
Lee and Huff are both expected to be in Gonzaga's starting lineup when the ball is tipped on Monday. Pierce, a versatile wing, is on track to do the same after starting in each of Purdue's three exhibitions.
Huff 's and Pierce's community of Glen Ellyn should be well-represented in Vegas. Both families are planning to attend Monday's game, as is Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka, who faces a win-win/lose-lose situation with former players on both teams.
Huff's 1-0 record against former Glenbard teammates could be a good omen for Monday. In 2024, he scored 14 points off the bench to help Gonzaga cruise past Bobby Durkin and Davidson, 90-65, at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
"It's going to be an interesting deal," Alec said of Monday's game. "I think that's going to be an issue for a few people in our community, to be honest with you."
