'Hoosier Roundtable' Podcast: Xavier Johnson on Return, Dealing with Tragedy, Praise for IU Women

Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson is close to returning to the floor for the Hoosiers. He broke down the timeline with HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew in this edition of the ''Hoosier Roundtable.'' Trey Galloway and Trayce Jackson-Davis interviews, too.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There are a lot of rumors floating around on social media about when Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson will return to the floor for the Hoosiers.

It's better, though, to get it straight from the source. Johnson was a guest on the ''Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast on Thursday night, and he said as much as he wants to play Saturday against Purdue, he's just not there yet.

But it seems very possible that he could play next week in home games against Iowa on Tuesday and Michigan on Sunday, provided all goes well between now and then. 

"It's coming along real well, and I just keep listening to my doctors and waiting for them to tell me when I can get back out on the court,'' Johnson said.  "I've been getting back out on the floor though and as you saw (in Tuesday's shoot-around at Michigan State), I was shooting around with my team and I was moving around real well. 

"I'm not doing contact yet, but I'm practicing with the team. I can't say much yet about how much I can do, but I do feel good about that,'' Johnson said of a return next week. "We've got one more week before we find out about that.

"They are very important games for us, and I'll have a lot more to say next week for sure. "If I could I would (plauyon Saturday), if it was my choice I'd go out there. You know, I'm just going along with the process, but I feel good. I just can't wait to get back out on the floor with my teammates.

Johnson weighed in on a lot of other topics during the show as well, including Tuesday's 80-65 loss at Michigan State, the talent of the Spartans' backcourt, the eeriness of being on MSU's campus just a week after the shootings there that claimed the lives on three students.

Johnson also talked about his friend Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills. They were both at Pittsburgh together before Johnson transferred to Indiana and Hamlin went to the NFL

Johnson also gave praise to the Indiana women's basketball team for winning the Big Ten. 

— on the Michigan State loss:

"Like Trey said, I just know our defensive rotations were messed up and we got outrebounded as well. That was the main factor in the game, just being physical with them. 

It's a great show, so watch it all. Just click below.

Watch the full podcast here