Pitt point guard Xavier Johnson will return to the program for his junior season, he said in a demonstrative Twitter post on Sunday night.
“Just want to clear this up with the people that’s curious,” Johnson wrote. “I am not going anywhere. I came to the Pittsburgh for a reason, and one of the main reasons was to leave a legacy and the main concern is to win. Please stop contacting my friends and family. Thank you! #H2P”
Johnson had been widely speculated as a potential pro departure after his strong freshman season in 2018-19, but said after Pitt’s final game of the season in Greensboro, North Carolina last week that’s he’s looking forward to the future here.
“The new recruits, and as coach said, IT (Ithiel Horton) is about to come,” he said about what he’s looking forward to in the future. He’s hype. It’s going to be great working with him this summer. All the new guys have been hitting me up on Instagram. They’re hyped.”
Johnson saw a slight reduction in his point goals, dropping from 15.5 points per gam as a freshman to 11.7 points per game as Pitt developed a more well-rounded offense in 2019-20 thanks to the emergence of Justin Champagnie and Au’Diese Toney as scoring threats.
Johnson did see an increase in his assists per game, from 4.5 to 4.9 and a decrease in his turnovers per game, from 4 to 3.4.
With Johnson back in the fold, the third-year point guard will immediately be seen as one of the leaders of the team in 2020-21.
Great News!
Hail to Pitt!!
X, Au’diese, Trey and Justin are quick enough to play in the ACC. The problem is depth. Hopefully, next year’s additions add to that quickness and depth. I can’t imagine where we would be if KS were still here, besides probation.