PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Second in the ACC in assists and one of Jeff Capel’s first recruits, Pitt junior point guard Xavier Johnson is entering the NCAA Transfer Portal immediately.
“The Pitt men’s basketball program and Xavier Johnson have mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest to part ways,” said Capel 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 was averaging 14.2 points per game, third on the team and along with leading them in assists (tied with Levance Fields for 5th most assists per game in a Pitt career), also had nearly double as many turnovers as anyone else. The junior from Virginia was also 30th on the Pitt all-time scoring list with 1,152 points, despite playing less than three seasons.
There was a bit of a troubled side to Johnson, shown in back-to-back games with technical fouls against Georgia Tech and NC State. Prompting head coach Jeff Capel to say about Johnson getting T-ed up.
“Nothing I’ve said has worked,” Capel said on February 17. “We been telling him for two and a half years now. Stop talking to the refs. Stop being demonstrative. Nothing we’ve said has worked.”
Now Johnson joins Trey McGowens (Nebraska) as key players who have left the program.
Femi Odukale will likely take over the point guard duties. The freshman has played 20+ minutes each of the last four games with 20 points, 9 assists and 6 turnovers combined. On the season, Odukale is averaging 4.8 points (43% FG) and 2 assists per game.
Panthers (9-9, 5-8) play Sunday afternoon at NC State at 4.