Xavier Johnson: 'I Cried About It For a Couple Days' After Foot Injury Ended His Season
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson spent week after week in the training room after breaking his foot at Kanas in mid-December. Following surgery, he followed the advice of his doctors and trainers every day, hoping to come back and help his teammates before the season was up.
It didn't happen, though. The surgically repaired bone in his foot still isn't healed, and that forced him to shut it down for the season. He's hoping to apply for a medical redshirt to the NCAA and play again at Indiana next year.
“My doctor told me that I wasn’t ready to play yet, honestly. My foot is still not 100 percent healed,'' Johnson said during the ''Big Ten Roundtable'' podcast with Sports Illustrated/FanNation host Tom Brew. (Johnson's interview starts at about the 18-minute mark.) "I still had a lot of conditioning I had to do, and I had to go through a couple of practices, too, before I could play. A lot went into the process because I’m still in the process of healing and I’m still following my doctor’s guidelines.
“It was hard (to back away) because I'm a competitor at the end of the day. I love to play basketball and I love my teammates. I really thought we had a shot of winning the Big Ten. I’m just going along with God’s plan. I cried about it for a couple of days. Coach Woodson and all of my teammates felt bad for me because they knew how much I wanted to come back. They were hurting for me, because they saw all the work I was putting in. I wanted it as bad as he did.’’
Johnson played three years at Pittsburgh before transferring to Indiana before last season. This was his fifth year, the COVID bonus year that the NCAA granted. Now he's hoping for a medical waiver, and he's right on the edge of the guidelines. He can appeal to the NCAA after the season, and he feels confident he will get it. That's why he decided not to go through Senior Night last week.
“I really do love this program and I hope the NCAA grants my appeal,'' he said. "I love to put on that Indiana uniform and I cherish every minute of it here.I just felt like I have a high chance of getting another year back, so I just didn’t want to do it. I hope I come back and then give my real (senior night) speech.’’
It's been tough to watch from the sidelines, because he's never missed time before during his career.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been hurt and I learned a lot, because this is my first actual injury,'' Johnson said. "Seeing the game from a different angle helps me with the sped of the game and you learn a lot just by watching. Even when I was hurt, I was always there for my teammates. I feel like my voice needs to be heard, and I still think they can go far without me. Malik (Reneau) and some teammates call me Coach.’’
Johnson is off to Albany, N.Y. with his teammates as the NCAA Tournament begins this weekend. The Hoosiers, a No. 4 seed, get No. 13 seed Kent State on Friday night, in the 9:55 p.m. ET late game.
The Hoosiers are ready to make a run, Johnson said.
“This team has no quit, and we keep digging down and playing hard. That’s what it was all about,'' Johnson said. "Kent State, their guards are dangerous. Their point guard (Sincere Carry), I personally know him and our guards will have to stay with them all night. Honestly, I feel like we’re the more talented team, but we’re going to come ready to play.
“He was from Duquesne and our freshman year we beat them.’’ Johnson, then a freshman himself, held Carry to 1-of-9 shooting. He said the grind of the Big Ten season has them well prepared for a weekend run. Indiana, should they win, gets the Miami-Drake winner on Sunday.
“There are a lot of teams in the Big Ten that play like them, but they’re better than Kent State honestly,'' Johnson said. "We’ve defending just about every action, and the Big Ten has prepared us for that. But playing against different opponents is going to be nice, too.''
Johnson was glad to see teammate Tamar Bates heat up last weekend, and he's expecting Bates to have a big weekend as well.
‘’Tamar he’s put the work in. He’s a guy that I’ve been in the gym with a lot, and I work out a lot with TB,'' he said. "I really do hope he has a good tournament run because he gives us a big boost off the bench.’’
