'Hoosier Roundtable' Podcast: Indiana's Xavier Johnson 'Will Be Back For Sure'

Injured Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson said ''oh, of course,'' when asked about returning before the end of the regular season from foot surgery, and he's hoping to be back on the floor sometime in February. ''I'll just let it happen. I want it to be a surprise,'' he said in an exclusive interview on the ''Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana has hit the skids lately, and playing without senior point guard Xavier Johnson has had a lot to do with that. He broke his foot early in the Kansas game on Dec. 17, and needed surgery. He's been out for four weeks now, but his rehab is going well, and he said he's hoping to be back in the floor at some point in the Big Ten season.

Johnson was a guest on the "Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast along with HoosiersNow.com publisher and host Tom Brew, and he talked all about the injury and his recovery, plus what's going on with the Hoosiers. His 16-minute exclusive interview was the first one he's done since his injury.

“I’m good. I’m actually feeling much better and I’m mobile a little bit,'' Johnson said. "I’m starting to work out on it a little bit and I go to see the doctor again on Monday to look at my foot. Hopefully I’ll hear something good. My X-rays have been looking good as well, so I’m going in the right direction.

"We’ve got probably a month left (without me) and I think Race (Thompson, who is out with a knee injury) is feeling better and will be back soon. He’s feeling better. We’ve just got get the other guys playing. They’re playing really well in practice, and now they’ve just got to do it in the games.’’

Johnson was pressed for a timetable for a return, but he's keeping that to himself and the team's medical staff.

“I’ll let it just happen. I want it to be a surprise. I’ll come back when I’m ready,'' he said. I asked him if we would see him before the March 5 regular season finale at home against Michigan? "Oh, of course,'' he said.

The Hoosiers are 10-6 overall and just 1-4 in the Big Ten. They play Wisconsin on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, and Johnson is convinced Indiana will get it together.

“We’re feeling good, and we can’t get down about it. We just have to keep working and grinding it out. We’ll get over the hump.’’ 

Johnson said he had never broken ''a major bone'' before, and his only experience was with a broken finger, something most basketball players go through during their career. He knew something was wrong as soon as he hit the floor in the first half at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan.

“When the play happened, I immediately grabbed my foot. I got up, and I tried to get up, but I fell back down,'' Johnson said. "I felt so much pain in my foot, and I knew something was wrong.

“I have never broken a major bone and been out for a while. I broke a finger one time and that was it, so I knew the feeling of a broken bone before. I was crying, because I knew something was wrong.’’

Surgery was required to make sure the break healed properly and wouldn't be an issue going forward.

“I wanted to go through it, because I feel like it’s important for my career,'' he said about the decision to have surgery on his right foot. "I’m going to play past college so I feel like it’s important to fix the problem. It's just a precaution for my career, because I feel like I can go far with this.’’

He's been getting a lot of treatment and doing rehab work since his late-December surgery. He stayed in Bloomington through the holidays, and his Virginia-based family came to Indiana to be with him. They all had Christmas dinner with Indiana coach Mike Woodson and his family.

He's getting there in his recovery, and all signs have been positive so far.

“I feel real good about the progress, and just being able to walk again. It’s been a I’ve never felt that before. It’s minute since I’ve walked on my right foot. Now that I can do it and that I can use it again, it feels good. I’m starting to lift on it again, and doing pool workouts. I can’t wait to get back.''

Watching his teammates struggle from the bench has been difficult, he said

“It drives me crazy, because I really love my teammates,'' he said. "We’re going through a little struggle, and we've just hit a wall, but Coach Woodson is going to get us through it. He’s a great coach. It is different (with starters out), but we’ve got to get over it. 

“It;’s all fixable. We’ve been watching a lot of film, and Coach has been asking us what we were thinking and explain what we were doing, so we can get better. That will help the solution.’ We’ve just got to come together and trust each other, honestly. It will happen over time, and we’ve just got get over the hump.’’

Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino has had to carry the load in Johnson's absence. They were great early, playing together in the backcourt often and helping the Hoosiers jump out to a 7-0 record and a No. 10 national ranking. The streak included a big road win at Xavier, currently ranked No. 12 in the country, and a home win over North Carolina, the defending national runner-up who was preseason No. 1

But since that Nov. 30 game, Hood-Schifino and Johnson have played only 6 minutes and 9 seconds together. The freshman missed three games with a back injury, then came back for the Kansas game, where Johnson got hurt and hasn't been able to play since.

Hood-Schifino has played well, outside of a few occasional freshman inconsistencies. 

“Jalen has been good, and I’m very proud of him,'' said Johnson, who has scored 1,674 career points during his three years at Pittsburgh and his year-plus at Indiana. "He’s hit a little wall, but it’s a small wall. He’s coming in as a freshman and producing a lot and that’s not easy to do as a freshman. That comes with his work, because he works really hard.’’

“That’s what we need from him. He’s got a strong mental game, and thats good being the point guard, because you’re a leader on this team and you’ve got the ball in your hands most of the time,.’’

The second half of the ''Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast featured a breakdown of the Indiana women's basketball team. The Hoosiers, who are 15-1 and ranked No. 6 in the country, beat No. 9 Maryland on Thursday night and we've got a full breakdown of the game with HoosiersNow.com reporter and video director Haley Jordan.

Watch the full 'Hoosier Roundtable' here

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• HOW TO WATCH INDIANA-WISCONSIN: Indiana hosts Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, three leading storylines, the latest on the point spread, the coaching matchup, series history and more. CLICK HERE
• POINT SPREAD: Somewhat surprisingly, the struggling Indiana Hoosiers are a decent-sized favorite against Wisconsin on Saturday. Indiana has lost five straight games to Power 5 teams and are just 1-10 against the Badgers in the past seven years. Here's the opening point spread, and a great history on what both teams have done against the number this season. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA WOMEN BEAT MARYLAND: The No. 6-ranked Indiana women's basketball team racked up another ranked win as it took down No. 9 Maryland at home on Thursday night. Junior guard Sydney Parrish had 18 points as three other Hoosiers reached double-figure scoring including Grace Berger in her first home game back from injury. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA'S DEFENSIVE COLLAPSE: Penn State tied a school record with 18 3-pointers in its 85-66 win over Indiana on Wednesday. Here's a breakdown of each play, including analysis of Indiana's defensive mishaps. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana was 7-0 and No. 10 in the country as we rolled into December, but they are a mess now as they spiral down to the Big Ten cellar. There's one statistic that clearly shows the difference in these two teams, what Indiana was, and what it is now. CLICK HERE