ACC Bulletin: Xavier Johnson, Pitt Part Ways

As Jeff Capel says so long to his talented but frustrating point guard

it’s not really clear what happened precisely, but Xavier Johnson is done at Pitt and is entering the transfer portal immediately and will not play for Pitt or Jeff Capel again.

In a statement, Capel said this: “The Pitt men’s basketball program and Xavier Johnson have mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest to part ways. 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.”

It’s a good news/bad news situation for Pitt: the only other guy who can really play point now is Femi Odukale, a 6-5 freshman from Brooklyn.

Recently, after Johnson got T’d up against NC State, Capel sounded exasperated, saying this: “Nothing I’ve said has worked. We’ve been telling him for three years, two-and-a-half years now, ‘Stop talking to the refs. Stop being demonstrative.’ Nothing we’ve said has worked.”

Well separating him from the team might just do it.

That makes him the second Johnson to leave an ACC team early this season after Duke’s Jalen Johnson walked away from the Blue Devils to focus on preparing for the NBA draft.