Photo of Xavier Johnson With Indiana Teammates Just Before Tipoff Goes Viral

ALBANY, N.Y. — Indiana's five starters were walking out to center court for the opening tip of their first-round game against Kent State on Friday, and just seconds before the game would start, they put their arms around in other in one last huddle.

The five of them, plus injured senior point guard Xavier Johnson. Johnson, who hasn't played since mid-December after breaking his foot at Kansas, is still very much a part of this team, and the players said that his final words of encouragement — and leadership — meant a lot to them.

He's still their leader, they all said Saturday when asked about the photo of the six of them that went viral during Friday night's game. They all talked at length about the value he still provides this team, even while being out with that broken foot.

"Xavier, even though he's been hurt, he's a huge part of our team,'' Indiana All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis said. "Even in the locker room, I remember against Northwestern, he got us really fired up. He was trying to fire us up and get us going, and we came out and started playing well.

"He does stuff like that. Even though he's not on the court, he's still our point guard, he's still our leader. He's using his voice and being vocal, hyping us up on the bench, and we need it from him because it gives our players confidence.''

Kopp loves how engaged Johnson stays in the game on the bench.

"You see him on the bench, a shot goes up, he's the first one to put his hand up, saying it's three ball,'' Kopp said. "He's the biggest cheerleader on the bench really, him and Anthony Leal, I think, and hego nuts over there. It means a lot because he can't affect the game on the court, but he's impacting the team and the game off the court, on the bench, in the huddles, in the locker room, and stuff like that. He's definitely doing as much as he can while he can't play.''

Senior forward Race Thompson appreciates Johnson being such a great teammate. Thompson has dealt with injuries himself throughout his career, so he feels for Johnson not being able to contribute on the floor.

"Yeah, he's been a great teammate. You couldn't ask for a better teammate than X,'' Thompson said. "Like they said, he's the first one cheering. He's paying attention in the scout. That's how he knows what's going on. He's hollering out plays.

"Again, he's a leader in the locker room, just keeping everybody together, keeping it light when it needs to be light, being serious when it needs to be serious. So I think just him being that great teammate and being a really good leader has helped us get to this point.''

Indiana coach Mike Woodson said he could have never imagined going almost a full season without Johnson. But he said he's still been a great mentor to freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, and he's doing all he can to still help the 23-11 Hoosiers, who take on Miami in a second-round game on Sunday night.

"He's like another coach,'' Woodson said. "He's been excellent for Jalen and guys that handle the basketball up front. He's been good in that area. Coming into this season, none of us thought we would lose Xavier Johnson because he was such a big piece to the puzzle last year. 

"He's continued to work a little bit, can't do much still, and we're working our butts off to try to bring him back for next season. And only time will tell if that will happen. But he's been a major positive for our ball club even though he hasn't been able to dress and play.''

Johnson and Hood-Schifino played together in Indiana's first seven games, all victories, including a Big Ten/ACC win over previous No. 1 North Carolina. Then Hood-Schifino missed three games with a back injury and they played just 6 minutes, 9 seconds at Kansas before Johnson got hurt. 

He was hoping to return for the end of the season, but the bone in his foot is still not fully healed. He's going to apply for a medical redshirt so he can play one more season in 2023-24.

He's been a great mentor for Hood-Schifino, a heralded point guard recruit out of Montverde Academy in Florida.

"When we set out to recruit Jalen Hood-Schifino, I was his biggest fan.'' Woodson said. "I couldn't get enough of going to AAU tournaments and going and watching him in high school. I made it very clear I have to get Jalen Schifino in an Indiana uniform. That was my first really priority. 

"And it's worked out because, again, I never thought I would lose Xavier. I really didn't. I thought Xavier, even though I was going to start them both, Xavier would teach him and tutelage him along the way. We just never got to it enough. Basically, we've thrown Jalen to the wolves, and he's kind of handled it, man. I mean, he's been poised. He's had his ups and downs, man, but for the most part, we are siting here playing Miami because Jalen Schifino has had a good freshman season.''

With an assist — another one — from Xavier Johnson.

Miller Kopp's hilarious 2:34 a.m. TikTok video

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• GAME STORY: Race Thompson doesn't have much of a postseason resume for Indiana, but he rewrote it on Friday night, scoring 20 points to lead Indiana to a 71-60 victory over Kent State in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE
• SUNDAY START TIME: Indiana doesn't mind playing late at night, and that's a good thing because they'll be back at it on Sunday night, taking on Miami after hours in their second-round NCAA Tournament matchup. CLICK HERE
• HEADBAND HILARITY: Indiana forward Miller Kopp has played in more than 150 college games and he's never worn a headband — until Friday night. He rocked the gear during the Hoosiers' NCAA Tournament win over Kent State and said it's here to stay now, and will probably wind up in his NIL store soon. CLICK HERE
• PHOTO GALLERY: Here are the best pictures from Indiana's game with Kent State on Friday night. CLICK HERE
• LARRANAGA TALKS INDIANA: Indiana and Miami tangle for just the second time ever on Sunday in a Big Ten/ACC showdown in Albany. It's a second-round NCAA Tournament game with the winner advancing to the Midwest regional next weekend in Kansas City. Here's what Miami coach Jim Larranaga said about the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
• WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' BLOCK: Indiana gained some momentum heading into halftime against Kent State with a huge block from Trayce Jackson-Davis off the backboard. CLICK HERE
• WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO'S DUNK: Indiana freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino was too quick for the Kent State defense on this play, darting his way through the lane for an easy dunk. CLICK HERE
• WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' VICIOUS DUNK: After a slick bounce pass from Jalen Hood-Schifino, Trayce Jackson-Davis slammed home a huge dunk against Kent State in the NCAA Tournament. CLICK HERE