Atlantic 10 Basketball: Breakout candidates from each team for 2020-21

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 12: A general view of the Barclay Center prior to the start of the 2020 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament - Second Round on March 12, 2020 in the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Tournament games will be played without fans amid growing concerns of the spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

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WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 8: Javon Greene #23 of the George Mason Patriots (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

G, Xavier Johnson – George Mason

Xavier Johnson is George Mason’s breakout candidate for the 2020-21 season. Johnson will be going into his sophomore year at George Mason after an impressive start last season with the program. Johnson brings a lot of young talent to a roster looking to succeed. George Mason hopes that with the young roster they have they can become one of the top teams in the conference which hasn’t been achieved since 2006 in their historic run to the Final Four.

Prior to George Mason, Xavier Johnson commanded the point guard position Episcopal in Virginia. John received several honors out of high school including, 2019 Washington Post Second Team All-Metro, two-time first-team all-state, and three-time, first-team All-IAC selection, Johnson also earned WaPo All-Metro honorable mention accolades as a junior in 2018.

Last season, Johnson started the final 18 games of the season where he averaged 7.1 points and ranked second on the team with 2.5 assists per contest. Johnson ranked eighth in the Atlantic 10 in steals per game (1.6) in league play. He also led Mason with 45 assists in Atlantic 10 play while playing 33.6 minutes per game.

Xavier Johnson has a lot to bring to the table for Dave Paulsen’s George Mason Patriots. Johnson will get more playing time next season and continue to improve his game which will impact the Patriots performance in the future.

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