Chronicling the career of Xavier Johnson
Xavier Johnson committed to the Pitt basketball program on April 28, 2018. It was nearly one month after Pitt named Jeff Capel the program’s new head coach. With Johnson, and the commitment of four-star guard Trey McGowens already in the fold, Pitt had its backcourt of the future, and more importantly a fresh start for the whole program.
At the time of Johnson’s commitment to Pitt, the Panthers were coming off an 0-18 season in ACC play. The school fired head coach Kevin Stallings, and the hiring of Capel signaled new light into the program that desperately needed it.
It became apparent right away that Johnson was a special talent. He was rated lower than his fellow freshman guard, Trey McGowens, but it was Johnson that instantly took the lead for this program as the team's point guard.
Johnson went onto score double figures in his first 18 college games. He was superb in the team’s first ACC win under Capel, when he went for 21 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds in an upset over Louisville. Weeks later he scored 18 points, while McGowens collected 30 points in an upset win over No. 11 Florida State.
The season took a turn following those performances. Pitt went onto lose 13 games in a row. Johnson was still named to the All-ACC Freshman team that year after averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 assists. Other members of that team included NBA players Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Tre Jones of Duke and Coby White from North Carolina.
Along the way, Johnson broke Charles Smith’s Pitt freshman scoring record that stood for 34 years. NBA talk swirled a bit, but Johnson returned for a sophomore season and it appeared Pitt had its first star to build around in years.
Johnson’s second year was not as smooth as the first. Pitt got off to a slow 2-2 start with a loss to Nicholls State mixed in there. His scoring average dipped down to 11.7 points per game, though his assists were on the rise and turnovers slightly down.
Pitt’s season faced a similar fate as the one before, however. The Panthers suffered a seven-game losing streak to close out the regular season. Johnson and Pitt regained form to win one ACC Tournament game over Wake Forest before bowing out to NC State a day later.
Following that loss, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the nation and halted everything. That did not stop McGowens from leaving the program. The talented Pitt backcourt was splitting up after two seasons without a postseason berth, but Johnson eyed a better season in year three.
The junior point guard took on a new mantra entering his third at Pitt. In the preseason he wanted to do nothing else but win.
“I learned that last year I was really stopping myself a lot,” he said in a preseason interview. “I was thinking about going to the next level. This year I’m just going to keep my head down and stay grounded.”
Pitt’s season did not get off to a strong start this year. St. Francis (PA) handed Pitt an 80-70 season-opening loss. Johnson finished with 9 points on 2-of-9 shooting, and it marked his first game of this current season he finished with at least four fouls. He’s had seven more since.
Johnson bounced back three days later with a 27-point outburst against Drexel. From there Pitt climbed to an 8-2 record with a 4-1 mark in league play. Johnson was instrumental in that run with a 23-point game in a 20-point win over Syracuse. He dished out 11 assists in a nationally televised win over Duke as well. That win was perhaps the highest pinnacle the program reached in the past three years.
Johnson and fellow 2018 recruit Au’Diese Toney formed a ‘big three’ along with sophomore Justin Champagnie, who has become one of the breakout stars of college basketball this season after great games against Syracuse and Duke. Things looked on the upswing for the program and NCAA Tournament buzz started.
Pitt then followed up the dramatic Duke win with a three-game losing streak to Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Notre Dame. Johnson scored just five points in the 84-58 loss to Notre Dame and played 19 minutes and eventually fouled out following a technical foul.
The technical laid the foundation for Johnson to come off the bench in Pitt’s next game against No. 16 Virginia Tech. It was just the second game in his career Johnson did not start at Pitt.
Johnson responded to the reprimand, though. He poured in a career-high 32 points and helped lead Pitt to an upset over the Hokies to slow down the losing streak.
Capel had nothing but praise for his guard following that effort. It seemed the message sent by the coaching staff was well received after some streaky play in the weeks prior.
“I just thought he played under control and the really good points guards have the ability to understand what the game needs, what the game calls for,” Capel said following the Virginia Tech game. “Sometimes that can be double figure assists, low scoring, great defense. Sometimes that can be 30 points. X has the ability where he can do both and it’s just him understanding each and every day and each and every game what the game calls for.”
It has not been pretty for Pitt basketball since that win over Virginia Tech. Pitt is in the midst of a four-game losing streak and their record has slid to 9-9 on the season.
Johnson added another technical foul in the one-point loss to North Carolina State last Wednesday, which led to some frustration being expressed by Capel in the postgame press conference.
“Nothing I’ve said has worked,” he said about the technical fouls. “We’ve been telling him for three years, two and a half years now. Stop talking to the refs. Stop being demonstrative. So nothing we’ve said has worked.”
Johnson’s final game came this past Saturday and it was emblematic of the season and the past three years for this program.
Johnson was held to 1-point in the first half on 0-7 shooting, but responded to come up 14 after halftime. It's been a common theme for Pitt to make a run late in the game, to come up short. As such, Pitt battled short-handed without Toney in the lineup against the streaking Florida State Seminoles, and had it down to a four-point game with :53 seconds remaining.
Pitt eventually lost 79-72, despite a strong second half push from Johnson one last time.
“Well he finished,” Capel said following the Florida State game. "In the first half he didn’t finish stuff…I think that was the difference, I don’t think the shots were any different, he was just able to see it go through the basket.”
Rumors started swirling on Wednesday morning of this week, and by 12:15 p.m., Pitt released a statement that Johnson and Pitt ‘Part ways’ thus ending his career at Pitt. Johnson will go to the transfer portal.
"The Pitt men's basketball program and Xavier Johnson have mutually agreed that it is in everyone's best interest to part ways," Capel said in a statement. "He will enter then transfer portal and is no longer a member of our program. We wish him the best of luck as he looks to continue his career elsewhere."
Johnson ends his career with 1,152 points, 415 assists, and 312 rebounds. Pitt’s win-loss record during Johnson career, and Capel’s tenure sits at 39-45, with a 14-26 record in the ACC. He ends this season with a 14.2 points per game average, along with 5.7 assists, which is second in the ACC.
Pitt will now close out the season without Johnson, as the Panthers have at least three more scheduled games and the ACC Tournament on the horizon. Freshman Femi Odukale will now take over the reigns at point guard with two career starts under his belt.
The Pitt program will move on without Johnson, and it starts this Sunday with a trip to North Carolina State.