Xavier Johnson, Rob Phinisee Talk Crossroads Classic in 'Point Guard Podcast' Thursday Night

Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson and Rob Phinisee are back behind the microphone on Thursday night for the fifth episode of the "Point Guard Podcast'' on HoosiersNow.com. The online show starts at 7:30 p.m. ET and we'll preview the Crossroads Classic, talk about Mike Woodson's comments and also discuss how finals week went.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's the final "Point Guard Podcast'' of 2021, with Indiana guards Xavier Johnson and Rob Phinisee joining the show live on HoosiersNow.com with publisher Tom Brew.

The show starts online at 7:30 p.m. ET. The links to watch on Facebook, Twitter and/or YouTube are below.

During tonight's show, we'll preview the final Crossroads Classic game with Notre Dame on Saturday, and reminisce a little bit with Phinisee, who became ''Big Shot Rob'' with his buzzer-beater three-pointer over Butler during his freshman year in 2018-19.

Indiana freshman guard Rob Phinisee (center) is mobbed by teammates after hitting a three-point shot at the buzzer to defeat Butler in the Crossroads Classic on Dec. 15 2018. (Jenna Watson/USA TODAY Sports)

Johnson has some Notre Dame history, too. He played Notre Dame all three years when he was the point guard at Pittsburgh. He won his freshman year, but has lost both games since.

Pittsburgh guard Xavier Johnson (1) drives to the basket as Notre Dame forward John Mooney (33) defends in a 2020 game. (Matt Cashore/USA TODAY Sports)

Indiana coach Mike Woodson was asked about his point guard play on Thursday, and we'll talk about his comments tonight as well. Should be some interesting responses from the guys.

Here's what Woodson said when asked about how happy he was with his point guard play so far.

"I still think it's a work in progress with all of our point guards,'' he said. "Again, it's a tough position, man. I'm demanding when it comes to that. There's certain things they've got to be able to do to get us over the hump, and we're still in the learning stages, me being the head coach and our point guards being point-guard players for our ball club. We've still got a ways to go in that regard.

"I'm going to keep pushing X and Rob and Khristian to be better because, as they get better, we'll benefit from it as a ball club.''

Woodson was also asked — again — about sophomore Khristian Lander's playing. time. Lander is third on the depth chart at point guard. So far this season, Johnson has played 225 minutes, Phinisee 128 and Lander 81. 

Most of his minutes came when Phinisee was out for three games with a calf injury. In the seven games where all three point guards have been healthy, he's played only 30 minutes thus far. 

"I would never discuss playing time with any fan or media,'' Woodson said Thursday when asked about Lander. "Khristian Lander is wearing an IU uniform, and if I see fit to put him in the game, I just hope that he's ready to play whatever minutes he gets. And he's done that for me.

"That's a hard question to answer because, again, as a coach, I'm going to do what I think is right for the team, and that's not to say playing him is wrong. He has played some, maybe not as much as he wants to play, and that's good too because I want 17 guys who want to play. That's what playing basketball is all about. I'd be disappointed if he sat over there and didn't give a damn about playing. Khristian's just got to keep working, which he's doing that, doing all the necessary things on and off the floor, and he's just got to wait and see where it leads us.''

Here's how to watch the podcast tonight:

Watch the podcast on Facebook

The first thing you should do on Facebook is like our page. That's where you see all of our great football and basketball content all year, and it's where the Facebook Live! version of the podcast shows up. It's at Facebook.com/SportsIllustratedIndiana. Just CLICK HERE to get to the page, and then hit LIKE.

Watch the podcast on YouTube

This is our new Sports Illustrated Indiana YouTube page, and in the coming days and weeks, all of our video content will wind up there, too. To land on the page, CLICK HERE

Watch the podcast on Twitter

The first thing you should do on Twitter is follow Sports Illustrated Indiana publisher Tom Brew. Just CLICK HERE to follow Tom, and that's where the the podcast will go live at 7 p.m. ET

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• WOODSON GOES HOME: Proud Indianapolis native Mike Woodson takes his Indiana team to his hometown for the first time on Saturday when the Hoosiers play Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic. He'd like to see more games in Indy, and he dropped some names — Kentucky, UCLA — as options. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SETS HOME/HOME WITH KANSAS: Looking to beef up its schedule with high-profile games, the Hoosiers will play Kansas in a home-and-home series starting in December 2022. The first game will be in Lawrence, and the second one in Bloomington in December of 2023. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is the complete 2021-22 Indiana men's basketball schedule, with game times, TV information where applicable, and links to all the game stories and Tom Brew columns so far. CLICK HERE