“He couldn’t be taken fully out of the game. Maintaining an invested presence kept him in a familiar environment and gave him a sense of normalcy, even when things weren’t normal. Younger players looked up to him and admired his leadership in spite of his unfortunate circumstance.īut it was personally beneficial for Johnson to be around the team so much, as well. Jackson-Davis was IU’s most prominent and publicly vocal leader last year, but Johnson knew how important his role was. That love for his teammates and desire to win - even if he wasn’t physically on the court - was a big reason why he remained as actively involved as possible. “That’s just a testament to his competitiveness and what he’s about.” “I think what made him so able to be willing to do that for us is just that he’s a competitor, at the end of the day, whether or not he can play or not, but he still wants the team to win,” senior guard Anthony Leal said. It was important to Johnson to stay engaged with Indiana through the rest of the season, even after he knew he wouldn’t be able to return. Teammates said he was always the loudest guy on the bench. He made a point of being around, every step of the way. Some players, after suffering injuries, prefer to keep to themselves and maintain some distance from the rest of the team while they recover. He did the same during practices, when he wasn’t occupied with his own rehab work. He cheered them on, encouraged them when they joined him on the sideline, and called out things he’d spot from his vantage point during games. He’d emerge from the locker room in street clothes or sweats while his teammates warmed up, and sat on the bench doing whatever he could to support them. He said he “didn’t know much yet.” But one day after that answer, the program announced Johnson would be out for the rest of the season.īut other than the Iowa and Kennesaw State games, every other game night was the same for Johnson last season. IU head coach Mike Woodson had typically been coy about Johnson’s injury status when asked about it, and that was true as ever when reporters brought up that warm-up appearance. Johnson wanted to return so badly, he did whatever he could to just feel a part of the action again. He dressed in uniform for warmups when Indiana hosted Iowa at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in late February, despite knowing he was not yet fully cleared to play. Especially towards the end of the year, when he was further along in his rehab, he got restless. Johnson never returned to game action in 2022-23, despite his eagerness to do so. Xavier didn’t miss another game for the rest of last season. I just know my son and know that this is what he does. I was really concerned about his mental health. It was hard for him I felt like it was really hard for him to be away from the game. I paid close attention to him because I know that it was an adjustment. “(He was) being a student of the game and analyzing it. “That was so foreign to him, not to even be there,” LaKesha said in a phone interview. It was always the family watching Xavier play. So he wasn’t used to being away from his team on game day.Īnd it was uncommon for him to watch a game like that with La’Kesha. He’d never missed an extended period of games, dating back to his early grade school days when he started playing basketball and football. “I was yelling and screaming at the TV like, ‘Yes! They’re finally getting it!’ But it’s about my teammates.” It was kind of weird because I’m like, ‘I’m supposed to be on the floor right now.’ But I was cheering on my teammates,” Johnson told The Daily Hoosier at IU’s media day in September. Watching from afar was an unfamiliar feeling for Johnson.
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