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Xavier Johnson


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I'm guessing a lot of people got frustrated with him for the 2nd half of the wisconsin disaster.  Drive into a defense and throw up an awkward prayer shot over and over.  I think everyone knew the refs weren't going to bail him out with foul call and doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a better result is the definition of insanity.

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10 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

I'll admit there are times when I'm cringing when he does certain things, but I can honestly say that I've never felt he acted selfishly on the court.  I don't think he does it to 'get his', rather he does because he wants to win and feels, as PG, it's his responsibility to make something happen.  I understand and can appreciate that mindset.  Being aggressive does not make you selfish.  

Yeah i haven't seen anything from Xavier that says selfish or wants to get his. He might try do to much at times, but like you said i think as one of the leaders and the PG of the team he thinks he has to make something happen. Yes it can be frustrating at times but at least he is doing it trying to win.

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1 hour ago, IUFLA said:

The Fire from Within 

Nice article on XJ and his upbringing...both parents USAF vets and excellent parents and people.

"In a meeting this summer, IU assistant coach Dane Fife told Xavier that unlocking his full potential was not a matter of his physical abilities. It was a matter of harnessing the mental side"

All I can say is, Amen to that...

Woody really seems to coach him hard. I agree with most here...kid is just wanting to win badly...and be a leader...but sometimes doesn't always make the heads up play...but I have no worries Woody won't reign him in or isn't on top of it.

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16 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Woody really seems to coach him hard. I agree with most here...kid is just wanting to win badly...and be a leader...but sometimes doesn't always make the heads up play...but I have no worries Woody won't reign him in or isn't on top of it.

Xavier is a fun player to watch and as he goes, IU goes.  His endless energy and will to win is his top asset and his leadership with his teammates was a missing ingredient in the past.  

He is best on the run and is growing when slowing it down, while running clock and letting a play develop.  I have a feeling he will grow in this area and by big ten tournament time IU will be at its best.

Edited by Fiveoutofsix
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He's the best PG on this team by a decent margin. He's not always making the best play. But he's aggressive and he wants to win. He's gotta stop picking up those cheap fouls. Some of his play reminds me of Yogi, yes I know he isn't as good as Yogi. Xavier gets us into the offense and gets things going. 

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Posted this because after I read it, I felt like a jackass for a couple of comments I'd made in a few game threads...

I think XJ's heart is in the right place...I really don't like some of the extra curricular stuff...I know some people think it shows an "edge" but he seems to lose a little focus when it happens...As Coach Fife said, harness the mental side...
And I can fully commiserate with his parents...Went through the same things in the USAF...Tough to be in the military and still be at every school function, sporting event, activity for your kids...His Mom and Dad sounded like many of the people I knew in the service...It's a full life, but it pays off in the end...

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1 hour ago, iuswingman said:

I'm guessing a lot of people got frustrated with him for the 2nd half of the wisconsin disaster.  Drive into a defense and throw up an awkward prayer shot over and over.  I think everyone knew the refs weren't going to bail him out with foul call and doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a better result is the definition of insanity.

He is by far the most aggressive offensive player in a group that is fairly passive (Kopp is probably second). I think he falls into a trap of falling for what the defense is allowing. Thus, the repeated drives against WI and some quick open threes against ND. 

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I still think what happened the 2nd half of Wisconsin was less about XJ and more about his coaches and teammates. 

The offense became completely stagnant in the second half and the coaching staff did nothing about it. 

Then, you have a stagnant offense with very little motion, mixed with 2 bigs with no perimeter game and two wings that can shoot but are zero threat to put the ball on the floor whatsoever. 

I'm not saying XJ was good or shouldn't get some criticism, but my opinion is he was trying to save us when nobody else was doing anything and his teammates were mostly just standing there. 

He was trying to do something, trying to make something happen without much help. Unfortunately he wasn't able to deliver, and now he's taking most of the heat for it. 

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28 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I still think what happened the 2nd half of Wisconsin was less about XJ and more about his coaches and teammates. 

The offense became completely stagnant in the second half and the coaching staff did nothing about it. 

Then, you have a stagnant offense with very little motion, mixed with 2 bigs with no perimeter game and two wings that can shoot but are zero threat to put the ball on the floor whatsoever. 

I'm not saying XJ was good or shouldn't get some criticism, but my opinion is he was trying to save us when nobody else was doing anything and his teammates were mostly just standing there. 

He was trying to do something, trying to make something happen without much help. Unfortunately he wasn't able to deliver, and now he's taking most of the heat for it. 

I definitely 100% agree with this. This is spot on, imo. 

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1 hour ago, BGleas said:

I still think what happened the 2nd half of Wisconsin was less about XJ and more about his coaches and teammates. 

The offense became completely stagnant in the second half and the coaching staff did nothing about it. 

Then, you have a stagnant offense with very little motion, mixed with 2 bigs with no perimeter game and two wings that can shoot but are zero threat to put the ball on the floor whatsoever. 

I'm not saying XJ was good or shouldn't get some criticism, but my opinion is he was trying to save us when nobody else was doing anything and his teammates were mostly just standing there. 

He was trying to do something, trying to make something happen without much help. Unfortunately he wasn't able to deliver, and now he's taking most of the heat for it. 

People need to realize....this team is better than we've had....but it is NOT by any stretch a complete team. We have a few that can shoot wide open...a couple that can drive...a couple that can score in the low post...but we don't really have any that can do multiple things or are multiple threats. We have pretty good specialist...but no real complete players I'd say. Bates is closest and he is really green. We really don't have that guy that can go and get his own shot. Xavier is basically the only guy that can break down and take his man off the dribble...and with that ability late in the shot clock etc it falls on him to generate offense. I have much less problem with the Wisconsin driving then the ND letting 3's fly early in the shot clock. He takes some shots that he could get any time...so no reason to force that action before we have run our set. All in all I'm much happier with the offense as a whole and a lot of that has to do with Johnson running the point....so I'll take the good with the bad. I notice Woody going full blast on Johnson quite a bit...so I know he isn't just getting a pass when he does something boneheaded. If there was a mixture of Rob and Xavier that would be awesome...but there isn't so I'll take his aggressiveness over timidness anytime.

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1 hour ago, dgambill said:

People need to realize....this team is better than we've had....but it is NOT by any stretch a complete team. We have a few that can shoot wide open...a couple that can drive...a couple that can score in the low post...but we don't really have any that can do multiple things or are multiple threats. We have pretty good specialist...but no real complete players I'd say. Bates is closest and he is really green. We really don't have that guy that can go and get his own shot. Xavier is basically the only guy that can break down and take his man off the dribble...and with that ability late in the shot clock etc it falls on him to generate offense. I have much less problem with the Wisconsin driving then the ND letting 3's fly early in the shot clock. He takes some shots that he could get any time...so no reason to force that action before we have run our set. All in all I'm much happier with the offense as a whole and a lot of that has to do with Johnson running the point....so I'll take the good with the bad. I notice Woody going full blast on Johnson quite a bit...so I know he isn't just getting a pass when he does something boneheaded. If there was a mixture of Rob and Xavier that would be awesome...but there isn't so I'll take his aggressiveness over timidness anytime.

Spot on, and a great synopsis of our current roster. Despite an upgrade, this team still struggles with not have a perimeter player or two that just get and make their own shot when needed. 

Agree too, the 8 or 9 3pt attempts against ND is a bigger issue than anything that happened in the Wisconsin game. 

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2 hours ago, BGleas said:

Spot on, and a great synopsis of our current roster. Despite an upgrade, this team still struggles with not have a perimeter player or two that just get and make their own shot when needed. 

Agree too, the 8 or 9 3pt attempts against ND is a bigger issue than anything that happened in the Wisconsin game. 

Whats also cool is we haven't been at full strength for a while so there is still plenty of room for growth.  Get Galloway back in the fold, Bates will be back immediately I would assume.  

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8 hours ago, BGleas said:

Worth clicking through to read the entire thread. 

The fact that there even is a thing as X haters is odd, he is a current IU player so no Hoosier fan should have hate towards him. I can understand being frustrated at times with him but from the looks of this tweet when we win he is a big reason why.

Edited by Hoosier51
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54 minutes ago, Hoosier51 said:

The fact that there even is a thing as X haters is odd, he is a current IU player so no Hoosier fan should hate him. I can understand being frustrated at times with him but from the looks of this tweet when we win he is a big reason why.

The using of the word hate is ridiculous, and the usual click bait crap that passes as journalism these days. Most IU fans are good with XJ overall, and the ones that "hate" him just want him to play smarter or a little more under control. Could you say anyone on this board, or IU fans in general, truly hates XJ? Give me a break.

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1 minute ago, AxnJxn said:

The using of the word hate is ridiculous, and the usual click bait crap that passes as journalism these days. Most IU fans are good with XJ overall, and the ones that "hate" him just want him to play smarter or a little more under control. Could you say anyone on this board, or IU fans in general, truly hates XJ? Give me a break.

On this board you are probably right, most on here are smart enough to know better. That being said i've seen someone suggest on here that he should be kicked off the team right away and i've also seen people say he shouldn't play at all. So give me a break on there not being any towards him.

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5 minutes ago, AxnJxn said:

The using of the word hate is ridiculous, and the usual click bait crap that passes as journalism these days. Most IU fans are good with XJ overall, and the ones that "hate" him just want him to play smarter or a little more under control. Could you say anyone on this board, or IU fans in general, truly hates XJ? Give me a break.

We have one poster that literally said ship him back to pit just a few days ago

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25 minutes ago, AxnJxn said:

The using of the word hate is ridiculous, and the usual click bait crap that passes as journalism these days. Most IU fans are good with XJ overall, and the ones that "hate" him just want him to play smarter or a little more under control. Could you say anyone on this board, or IU fans in general, truly hates XJ? Give me a break.

I don’t think the Assembly Call guys meant that some fans literally hate XJ. I wouldn't call it clickbait, I think we mostly all understand what they mean by "haters". 

With that said, we've had posters on this board suggest at minimum that XJ should be benched completely and at maximum that he should be kicked off the team. 

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A lot of the "hate" is simply frustration watching the game...I've admitted I get a little emotional and carried away at times, but I don't think wanting a kid pulled or exploring other options really qualifies as "hate."

But I think the article I posted shows the human side...the hard work this kid (not to mention his parents) went through to get here...There was a whole lot of "admirable" in that article...

Going forward, I trust Coach Woody to "give them hell" as he put it, when it's needed...

 

Edited by IUFLA
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25 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I don’t think the Assembly Call guys meant that some fans literally hate XJ. I wouldn't call it clickbait, I think we mostly all understand what they mean by "haters". 

With that said, we've had posters on this board suggest at minimum that XJ should be benched completely and at maximum that he should be kicked off the team. 

Good analysis by those guys. I would venture to say 99% of IU fans don’t hate XJ, they are just like me, and understand that his decision making / improvement can make the difference in us making a tourney run and not even making the tourney. We NEED him to be a playmaker that plays within himself. Unfortunately playmakers have to blur the line and try to force things sometimes, so I guess we’re asking a lot of him. Be aggressive, get down hill, but be under control. If you have a window, take it, but if you don’t be smart enough to pass it or pull it back out. I can be critical of XJ, but that’s only because I can see how good we are when he’s clicking. But, as I said before, he should be commended for already making us better. Unfortunately there is a lot on his shoulders. He seems to be the kid you love to be around and coach, but there are times you want to grab him and shake him (if that makes sense) to get the bad out. 

Edited by kyhoosier29
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