After Indiana walk-on ahead Nate Childress soared by way of the lane for a dunk within the closing minutes of a dominant exhibition win over St. Francis Thursday night, beginning fifth-year guard Xavier Johnson’s knees buckled, after which he fell flat on his again.  Actually.

Don’t fear, Johnson was superb.

However with one minute left and IU up by 48 factors, that second informed you one thing concerning the Virginia product who transferred to Indiana a yr in the past.

It appears Johnson solely is aware of tips on how to do issues a technique — he’s all in — on this case celebrating to the acute for his teammate’s emphatic slam.

Indiana rode the wave of all-in highs and lows with Johnson a yr in the past, and his late play within the 2021-22 marketing campaign was a pivotal a part of the Hoosiers’ run to the NCAA Event.  He averaged 14.2 factors, 5.9 assists and shot 41.4 % from lengthy distance within the ultimate 17 video games.

By and huge, when Johnson was proper, Indiana was proper.

“When he’s on board and he’s prepared, we’re a tricky staff to beat,” senior ahead Trayce Jackson-Davis mentioned at IU’s media day.

However in fact there’s one other aspect to Johnson — each on and off the courtroom.

He had his share of struggles in the course of the first half of the 2021-22 season, together with a 4-of-16 clunker at Wisconsin, and a 3-of-11 efficiency in opposition to Notre Dame that drew boos from Indiana followers.

The all-in aspect of Johnson led to off courtroom points in the course of the offseason, when he drove his automotive 90 miles per hour on a metropolis road in Bloomington, after which tried to idiot police into believing he wasn’t driving the automotive.

Johnson mentioned he modified his entire mindset to attain his late success a season in the past, and he’ll should do it once more this yr as a brand new set of dynamics will check the fiery level guard.

Final season Indiana lived and died with the ball in Johnson’s palms always, however this yr he’s beginning alongside a second main ball-handler, freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino.

It took half a season and a change in enjoying fashion to get Johnson going a yr in the past, as he realized to learn defenses higher, and Indiana discovered he excelled within the pick-and-roll.

However the ask of Johnson is totally completely different this yr.  He’ll be enjoying off the ball as a lot as he’s on it, a job he hasn’t had all through his faculty basketball profession.  If the early returns are any indication, there will likely be one other studying curve.

At IU’s media day Johnson expressed enthusiasm about enjoying off the ball and maybe taking pictures a bit extra typically.  However by way of the 2 exhibition video games the 6-foot-3 Johnson is simply 5-of-19 from the sector, together with 0-of-7 from three, and he had 5 turnovers in these contests in opposition to NAIA-level competitors.

Johnson remains to be some extent guard.  He’ll convey the ball up at occasions, however now there is no such thing as a set in stone rule that he needs to be on the high of the offense.

And with a extra proficient staff than a yr in the past, his head coach is asking for much less from a participant who seemingly solely is aware of tips on how to give extra.  After noticing Johnson’s struggles by way of the 2 exhibition video games, Woodson sought him out to assist him perceive his new function.

“I informed Xavier after the (St. Francis) recreation, you don’t should do all of it this yr,” Woodson mentioned.  “You actually don’t. I believe we’ve bought sufficient items on this staff that you may simply do your half and never should stress out about considering you need to do every thing.”

It feels truthful to ask, does Johnson know tips on how to perform on a staff that doesn’t want him to do all of it? He’s been working the present as a place to begin guard because the day he stepped on campus at Pitt in 2018.  It additionally feels truthful to ask primarily based on Woodson’s remark about Johnson stressing, does Indiana imagine they’ll manifest much more effectivity and effectiveness from him this season?

Whereas Woodson is asking much less, he is aware of what his level guard is able to.  And he is aware of there will likely be nights when Johnson takes over, like his back-to-back 24 level efforts in opposition to Minnesota and Maryland in must-win February video games, or the 18 level, 12 help gem he produced at Purdue.

“There’s going to be nights X goes to actually, actually explode offensively and have massive video games, and there’s going to be nights that may not occur. However he’s nonetheless bought to be Xavier Johnson for us. He’s nonetheless bought to defend. He’s nonetheless bought to get the ball the place it’s bought to go and set us up, break press defenses and issues of that nature.”

Woodson did a masterful job final yr of serving to Johnson navigate the tough patches, holding him locked in, and finally elevating his stage of play considerably down the stretch.

This time round, the problem is perhaps larger.

Mr. all-in must exit of character, dial issues again, and do much less.

“I’ve simply bought to gradual him down and get him in state of mind,” Woodson mentioned.

Woodson took away Johnson’s automotive keys to gradual him down on the roads.  Now he’s taken away the keys to the offense, no less than in some respects.

Getting Johnson to decelerate in any setting is not any straightforward activity.  Neither is asking him to tackle a wholly new function.

And the way Woodson makes this work will likely be one of many extra attention-grabbing tales to observe this season.

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