Hoosiers Now

Former Pitt Guard Xavier Johnson Commits to Indiana

Indiana dipped into the transfer portal for the first time since Mike Woodson was hired on March 29, grabbing former Pitt standout Xavier Johnson, one of the best point guards available.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's coaching staff continues to build its roster, first coaxing its own players back and reaching into the bloated NCAA transfer portal.

Xavier Johnson, a transfer from Pittsburgh, committed to Indiana on Wednesday afternoon via an Instagram post. He had Indiana in his final four selections, along with national champion Baylor, Final Four participant Houston and St. Joseph's.

Johnson was ranked as one of the top transfers available ever since entering the portal. He's been a double-digit scorer at Pitt for three-straight years, averaging 15.5 points per game as a freshman, 11.7 points as a sophomore and 14.2 this season as a junior.

In addition to scoring this season, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound point guard also led his team in assists with 5.7 per game.

Johnson told Eric Bossi of 247Sports that he describes himself as "probably one of the fastest guards in the country."

Johnson was a 2018 McDonald's All-American at Bishop O'Connell High School in Virginia. He led Bishop O’Connell to a 30-9 record and No. 5 state ranking as a senior while averaging 18.4 points, four rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He finished high school career with 1,034 points.

He was selected to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2018-19, and he was one of four players in the ACC averaging at least 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in the 2019-20 season.

Since Mike Woodson was hired on March 29 to replace Archie Miller, he's been busy keeping the roster together. Of the six Indiana players who entered the transfer portal of Miller's firing, Parker Stewart, Khristian Lander and Jordan Geronimo have returned.

Al Durham, who played four years at Indiana and has a degree already, has decided to transfer to Providence for one more season. Indiana standouts Armaan Franklin and Race Thompson are still in the transfer portal. 

The biggest fish in the pond, of course, was sophomore Trayce Jackson-Davis, the team's leading scorer and rebounder the past two seasons. After being ''dead set on going to the NBA'' after Miller's firing, a meeting with Woodson and his dad, Ray Jackson, changed everything and Jackson-Davis opted to return for his junior year.

Woodson has been busy building his coaching staff, too. He retained Kenya Hunter from Miller's staff and hired Dane Fife, the former Indiana player and 10-year Michigan State assistant coach, on Monday. 

After Johnson's announcement, Jackson-Davis tweeted "I think we ain't done yet.''

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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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