#5. Xavier Johnson was less than impressive on opening night
In 21 minutes against Morehead State, Xavier Johnson managed four points, three assists, one steal, two turnovers, three fouls, and shot 2-for-3 from the field. The only positive I take away from that stat line is the 2-for-3 from the field, meaning he didn’t force dumb shots to pad his stats.
In his three games this season (two exhibitions), Johnson has averaged 5.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.3 turnovers, and has shot 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) from the field in 20 minutes per game. And that’s the Hoosiers senior point guard. He has to be better than that, especially when you think about the fact that he put up those numbers against two NAIA teams and a mid-major program.
If you were to ask me right now to pick between Xavier Johnson or Jalen Hood-Schifino to run point guard for IU for the rest of the season, I would take Hood-Schifino 100 percent of the time. The only difference is the experience that X has out on the floor in ACC and Big Ten play. The senior guard needs to show some sort of leadership to keep earning himself minutes.