Xavier or “X” Pinson was a 3-star guard in the class of 2018 that played 3 seasons at Mizzou Arena before deciding to pack his bags and transfer after a first round tournament exit last March. The Mizzou Tiger decided he wanted to stay in the conference and keep the same mascot when he transferred to LSU.
Through 14 games this season, the senior guard is averaging 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. These numbers don’t jump off the page, and the scoring is actually down 2.5 points-a-game from his final Mizzou season averages. However, Xavier Pinson is understanding his role better under Will Wade’s supervision and playing the best basketball of his collegiate career.
Sure, he hasn’t cracked 20 points this year with LSU, nor hit 8 threes in a game like he did last season versus TCU. However, he is helping the Tigers win games down in the Bayou. His 4.5 assists a night are the highest of his college career by over an assist and a half and, just in general, he is looking to pass more. The once iso-dominant offensive guard is finding ways to be a playmaker and get teammates the ball. This element of his game was something that was missing while he was a Missouri Tiger and it is making him tremendously more valuable to Will Wade’s squad.
Another area where X is surprisingly continuing to get better is on defense. Xavier struggled to guard Austin Reeves in the 2021 NCAA tournament and this led to Cuonzo Martin benching Pinson for the likes of Drew Buggs. Now, the decision to bench Pinson is a discussion for another day, but the larger point is that he has improved his on-ball defense and is averaging an impressive 2.1 steals-per-game so far this season. This includes a 3-steal performance versus Kentucky (#16 as of Jan. 5th, 2022) with one of the steals leading to a dagger dunk in their 65-60 victory on January 4th.
Overall, Xavier Pinson has acclimated himself well to Will Wade’s program and the LSU Tigers. As the SEC enters more conference play, it will be interesting to see if Pinson’s Senior season success continues.