Indiana University Athletics
X Factor – For Xavier Johnson, It’s All About Winning
10/5/2023 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It starts with championships. Xavier Johnson is clear about that. The Indiana point guard is on his sixth -- and, one assumes, final -- college basketball season with winning big uppermost on his mind.
"My goal is nothing individually, it's team-wise," he says. "I want to win. The last thing on my to-do list in college is to win. That's my motivation. Win a championship."
Johnson is a ferocious competitor who has put up impressive career numbers in three seasons at Pitt and two at IU -- 1,674 points, 603 assists, 457 rebounds and 168 steals.
Still, it was the goal to win big that brought him back after a season-ending foot injury that could have left him seeking professional opportunity.
"I have all the numbers in college," he says. "Good numbers. The only thing holding it back is winning. I want to say I won a championship with this team."
Wanting is one thing. Does he have the over-riding hunger necessary to make it happen?
Coach Mike Woodson suggests yes.
"I'm sure he's hungry. It was the first time he's ever been hurt where he missed practically the whole season. This is his last go-around. He's got to give us all he can to make it right."
Woodson jokingly calls Johnson an "old man," and in college basketball terms, he is. He was born at the end of the 20th Century and will turn 24 on Oct. 14.
Does he feel old?
"No, I don't. I feel young," Johnson says with a laugh. "I feel great. A hundred percent."
The foot injury that limited him to 11 games last season is fully healed. He is ready to once again lead the IU offense, although this one will be significantly different with the departure of All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis, whose inside dominance produced 2,258 career points and 1,143 rebounds.
The result should be an attack in which all five players have outside scoring potential, which wasn't the case with Jackson-Davis, who basically never took a 3-pointer.
With 119 career college games on his resume, Johnson will be the primary point guard, with veteran Trey Galloway sharing point-guard responsibilities. Both are team captains this season.
"X has played more basketball games in college than anybody on our ball club," Woodson says, "so I expect him to lead, be a point guard, be a leader on and off the floor, and put us in position to win games. That's what it's all about."
Johnson is fine with that.
"I want to win a lot of games. We have a chance. We were expecting to win a championship last year. It didn't happen. I'm still here. I want to put (a title banner) up for them."
The foot injury to the man called X came at Kansas. Add result in that game (IU lost 84-62) and it made for a tough December trip home.
"The first thing Coach Woodson asked me when I got on the bus was, 'Do you want to come back?' My first instinct was no because of my age."
"No" became "maybe" became "yes" after receiving an NCAA medical hardship waiver to return.
"It's how things go in life," Johnson says. "Everybody has a different route. I realize that. God put me in this position to succeed."
Johnson's injury came just as he was rounding into difference-making form. He'd been a huge late-season catalyst in 2022 as IU reached the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2016 but began last season with inconsistency. A double-double (11 points, 11 assists) against Arizona was encouraging.
Then his season was over. Even though it led to the emergence of freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (who became an NBA first-round pick) and a late-season surge that produced a second straight NCAA tourney appearance, it was a huge team blow, Woodson says.
"Two years ago, make no mistake about it, we got in the NCAA Tournament because of Xavier Johnson and his play coming down the stretch," Woodson says. "Losing Xavier was huge. It hurt us. We were able to regroup and recover, and a lot of that had to do with Jalen and the supporting cast."
Through it all, Johnson watched, wondered, and worried. IU, which began last season with Big Ten title hopes, lost its first three January Big Ten games to fall to 1-4 in the conference before rebounding to finish 12-8 in the league, 23-12 overall.
"The toughest part was seeing my team," he says. "We went on a losing streak, and I couldn't help them out. I couldn't get on the floor to really help them out. I had to talk to them and just be the motivational speaker on the sideline."
Johnson aims to be much more than that this season. His attack-the-recovery approach has impressed Galloway, who has battled a series of injuries during his IU years.
"It's cool to see because I dealt with a lot of the same thing," Galloway says. "I had a big-time injury last summer that I had to deal with.
"I told him to stick with it, because it's not all going to come at one time. He stuck with it all summer and got back to being himself. That's going to be huge for us because of his leadership and experience. He is going to really help us."
Johnson is doing everything he can to have a healthy final season.
"One thing coaches have been preaching to me is stay in the training room. The training room has got to be my best friend."
On the court, Johnson wants to improve his shooting off the dribble and leadership. He says Galloway and senior guard Anthony Leal will share leadership responsibilities.
"Coaches get on me a lot about talking. I'm not the loudest guy. I like to set everything by example, lead by example. Coaches expect me to lead by example and by my voice."
Johnson will lead a dramatically changed roster. Key contributors Jackson-Davis, Hood-Schifino, Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Jordan Geronimo, and Tamar Bates are gone. Newcomers Kel'el Ware, Gabe Cupps, Anthony Walker, Mackenzie Mgbako, Payton Sparks and Jakai Newton will join veterans Johnson, Galloway, Malik Reneau and CJ Gunn.
It's a team of intriguing potential. Mgbako was one of the nation's top recruits last season. The 7-foot Ware, an Oregon transfer, was a 5-star prospect coming out of high school. Sparks was a double-double threat at Ball State. Walker was a significant contributor on a Miami of Florida team that beat IU in the NCAA tourney last spring. Cupps and Newton are promising freshman guards.
Putting it all together into a title-contending unit starts, Johnson says, by buying into Woodson's coaching.
"That's the first thing. Listen to what Coach Woodson has to say; listen to everything he tells us. That's what a lot of guys have got to buy into.
"A lot of guys come from different systems. This is a major time for us. We've got to come together right now. We can't wait until November."
Johnson can be a dominant scorer if necessary. He averaged 15.5 points as a freshman at Pitt, and 12.2 points in his first IU season.
"When I came here, I was a scorer," he says. "We didn't have the same talent. I can still score. My teammates can, as well. Trey can. It will be different players on different nights."
Woodson is hard on his point guards and his team captains. They not only have to play at a high level, they have to push teammates to do the same.
Woodson has demanded much of Johnson, whose feistiness sometimes got the better of him. But experience, adversity and team co-captain duties can sharpen poise and perspective.
"He's doing all the right things," Woodson says, "but we've got to play the games. We've got to get better on both ends of the floor. He's got to play a role in that.
"He's done it a little bit longer than most of the young men on our team, so I expect more. He's wearing that captain title on his head, so he's got to give me more, he's got to do more to help us win, and he will."
Adds Johnson: "I think we'll have a unique team, a more athletic team."
In other words, a team that can win big.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It starts with championships. Xavier Johnson is clear about that. The Indiana point guard is on his sixth -- and, one assumes, final -- college basketball season with winning big uppermost on his mind.
"My goal is nothing individually, it's team-wise," he says. "I want to win. The last thing on my to-do list in college is to win. That's my motivation. Win a championship."
Johnson is a ferocious competitor who has put up impressive career numbers in three seasons at Pitt and two at IU -- 1,674 points, 603 assists, 457 rebounds and 168 steals.
Still, it was the goal to win big that brought him back after a season-ending foot injury that could have left him seeking professional opportunity.
"I have all the numbers in college," he says. "Good numbers. The only thing holding it back is winning. I want to say I won a championship with this team."
Wanting is one thing. Does he have the over-riding hunger necessary to make it happen?
Coach Mike Woodson suggests yes.
"I'm sure he's hungry. It was the first time he's ever been hurt where he missed practically the whole season. This is his last go-around. He's got to give us all he can to make it right."
Woodson jokingly calls Johnson an "old man," and in college basketball terms, he is. He was born at the end of the 20th Century and will turn 24 on Oct. 14.
Does he feel old?
"No, I don't. I feel young," Johnson says with a laugh. "I feel great. A hundred percent."
The foot injury that limited him to 11 games last season is fully healed. He is ready to once again lead the IU offense, although this one will be significantly different with the departure of All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis, whose inside dominance produced 2,258 career points and 1,143 rebounds.
The result should be an attack in which all five players have outside scoring potential, which wasn't the case with Jackson-Davis, who basically never took a 3-pointer.
With 119 career college games on his resume, Johnson will be the primary point guard, with veteran Trey Galloway sharing point-guard responsibilities. Both are team captains this season.
"X has played more basketball games in college than anybody on our ball club," Woodson says, "so I expect him to lead, be a point guard, be a leader on and off the floor, and put us in position to win games. That's what it's all about."
Johnson is fine with that.
"I want to win a lot of games. We have a chance. We were expecting to win a championship last year. It didn't happen. I'm still here. I want to put (a title banner) up for them."
The foot injury to the man called X came at Kansas. Add result in that game (IU lost 84-62) and it made for a tough December trip home.
"The first thing Coach Woodson asked me when I got on the bus was, 'Do you want to come back?' My first instinct was no because of my age."
"No" became "maybe" became "yes" after receiving an NCAA medical hardship waiver to return.
"It's how things go in life," Johnson says. "Everybody has a different route. I realize that. God put me in this position to succeed."
Johnson's injury came just as he was rounding into difference-making form. He'd been a huge late-season catalyst in 2022 as IU reached the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2016 but began last season with inconsistency. A double-double (11 points, 11 assists) against Arizona was encouraging.
Then his season was over. Even though it led to the emergence of freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (who became an NBA first-round pick) and a late-season surge that produced a second straight NCAA tourney appearance, it was a huge team blow, Woodson says.
"Two years ago, make no mistake about it, we got in the NCAA Tournament because of Xavier Johnson and his play coming down the stretch," Woodson says. "Losing Xavier was huge. It hurt us. We were able to regroup and recover, and a lot of that had to do with Jalen and the supporting cast."
Through it all, Johnson watched, wondered, and worried. IU, which began last season with Big Ten title hopes, lost its first three January Big Ten games to fall to 1-4 in the conference before rebounding to finish 12-8 in the league, 23-12 overall.
"The toughest part was seeing my team," he says. "We went on a losing streak, and I couldn't help them out. I couldn't get on the floor to really help them out. I had to talk to them and just be the motivational speaker on the sideline."
Johnson aims to be much more than that this season. His attack-the-recovery approach has impressed Galloway, who has battled a series of injuries during his IU years.
"It's cool to see because I dealt with a lot of the same thing," Galloway says. "I had a big-time injury last summer that I had to deal with.
"I told him to stick with it, because it's not all going to come at one time. He stuck with it all summer and got back to being himself. That's going to be huge for us because of his leadership and experience. He is going to really help us."
Johnson is doing everything he can to have a healthy final season.
"One thing coaches have been preaching to me is stay in the training room. The training room has got to be my best friend."
On the court, Johnson wants to improve his shooting off the dribble and leadership. He says Galloway and senior guard Anthony Leal will share leadership responsibilities.
"Coaches get on me a lot about talking. I'm not the loudest guy. I like to set everything by example, lead by example. Coaches expect me to lead by example and by my voice."
Johnson will lead a dramatically changed roster. Key contributors Jackson-Davis, Hood-Schifino, Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Jordan Geronimo, and Tamar Bates are gone. Newcomers Kel'el Ware, Gabe Cupps, Anthony Walker, Mackenzie Mgbako, Payton Sparks and Jakai Newton will join veterans Johnson, Galloway, Malik Reneau and CJ Gunn.
It's a team of intriguing potential. Mgbako was one of the nation's top recruits last season. The 7-foot Ware, an Oregon transfer, was a 5-star prospect coming out of high school. Sparks was a double-double threat at Ball State. Walker was a significant contributor on a Miami of Florida team that beat IU in the NCAA tourney last spring. Cupps and Newton are promising freshman guards.
Putting it all together into a title-contending unit starts, Johnson says, by buying into Woodson's coaching.
"That's the first thing. Listen to what Coach Woodson has to say; listen to everything he tells us. That's what a lot of guys have got to buy into.
"A lot of guys come from different systems. This is a major time for us. We've got to come together right now. We can't wait until November."
Johnson can be a dominant scorer if necessary. He averaged 15.5 points as a freshman at Pitt, and 12.2 points in his first IU season.
"When I came here, I was a scorer," he says. "We didn't have the same talent. I can still score. My teammates can, as well. Trey can. It will be different players on different nights."
Woodson is hard on his point guards and his team captains. They not only have to play at a high level, they have to push teammates to do the same.
Woodson has demanded much of Johnson, whose feistiness sometimes got the better of him. But experience, adversity and team co-captain duties can sharpen poise and perspective.
"He's doing all the right things," Woodson says, "but we've got to play the games. We've got to get better on both ends of the floor. He's got to play a role in that.
"He's done it a little bit longer than most of the young men on our team, so I expect more. He's wearing that captain title on his head, so he's got to give me more, he's got to do more to help us win, and he will."
Adds Johnson: "I think we'll have a unique team, a more athletic team."
In other words, a team that can win big.
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