BLOOMINGTON – This IU basketball season has been a massive disappointment. Coming off two straight NCAA tournament appearances, the Hoosiers were expected to be in the conversation to dance again.
But IU (15-13, 7-10 Big Ten) hasn’t been what many expected, and the prolonged absences of point guard Xavier Johnson is a major reason why. On Tuesday, Johnson returned from his left elbow injury that forced him out of six games in February. With Johnson back on the court, off the bench, IU beat Wisconsin 74-70, breaking a four-game losing streak.
The 24-year-old Hoosiers veteran has seldom been available over the past 15 months. In what was supposed to be his final year of college eligibility last season, Johnson fractured his right foot, forcing him to miss the last 24 games of the 2022-23 campaign. Johnson then received a medical redshirt waiver to return for this season, but a left foot injury kept him out of all seven of Indiana’s games in December.
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“Every day I go to bed thinking about what this team could have been like if we had X earlier,” Indiana coach Mike Woodson said after the Wisconsin game. “To have him back tonight, you can see the game changes a little bit when he’s on the floor. He didn’t play particularly well, but I thought he did some good things when he was in there.”
Johnson scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting with a rebound, an assist and five turnovers against the Badgers in 15 minutes. It was by no means a glamorous return, but Johnson’s presence gives this team a boost in spirit that’s missing when he’s in street clothes.
Even though he didn’t play great, having Johnson on the floor alleviates the pressure on freshman point guard Gabe Cupps. While Cupps still started, he played only 18 minutes, the second fewest he played in February.
The elbow injury could’ve kept Johnson sidelined for up to six weeks, but he came back four weeks after taking a hard fall against Iowa. He’s not at 100% health, but with a handful of games left in his college career, Johnson wants to be out on the court. Johnson claims he still can’t dribble the ball with his left hand without feeling pain in his elbow. Despite this, he’s back on the court and ready to finish his college career.
“It’s been kind of hard — mentally and physically — for me,” Johnson said Friday. “Dealing with all these injuries, it’s been keeping me out of rhythm.”
Between his injuries, rocky play and questionable flagrant fouls, Johnson hasn’t given the Hoosiers what they anticipated this year. Johnson’s averaging 8.1 points and 2.1 assists per game. Two years ago — Johnson’s first and best season in Bloomington — he averaged 12.1 points and 5.1 assists per game.
Make no mistake, IU’s problems this year are far bigger than Johnson’s injuries. Woodson and his staff built a roster that’s young, lacks shooting and doesn’t play as big as it is. Using Johnson’s nicks as an ultimate copout is disingenuous, but this team was never going to function well without Johnson playing at his 2021-22 form.
“I was a big key to this team to be successful and I’ve been out for about two months for this season,” Johnson said.
Sunday will be Johnson’s last game playing at Maryland. He’ll have several friends and family in attendance for the game at the Xfinity Center, which is about 45 miles away from his hometown of Woodbridge, Va.
Any chance for the Hoosiers to galvanize hope from this season has to continue against the Terrapins. Indiana has three games left in the regular season before heading to the Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis. Indiana needs to rattle off win after win to make unlikely NCAA tournament dreams come true.
“The job’s not finished,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to get polished for the Big Ten tournament because that’s probably going to be our last shot at making the NCAAs.”
Johnson’s last two years of college have been marred by injuries. While he likely won’t end up playing in the NCAA tournament again, he’s got a couple of weeks left to leave fond memories behind in Bloomington.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball: Xavier Johnson return from injury a boost for IU
