Florida basketball star Keyontae Johnson collapsed on the floor during the first half of the Gators’ game against rival Florida State on Dec. 12. Johnson was carried off the floor on a stretcher and was taken to a local hospital. Johnson was reportedly in critical but stable condition before being transported from Tallahassee to a hospital in Gainesville two days later, where he was put in a medically induced coma, according to his grandfather.
Florida’s Keyontae Johnson released from hospital after scary collapse
The Gators’ junior wing collapsed on the floor against Florida State on Dec. 12. He’s finally leaving the hospital.
Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
On Tuesday, Johnson’s condition was upgraded to stable, with the program saying he was breathing on his own and speaking with doctors. One week later, Johnson is out of the hospital. Here’s the latest release from Florida:
Johnson collapsed coming out of the timeout after finishing an alley-oop dunk. TV cameras cut away as Johnson fell to the floor. The game paused as Johnson was carried off the floor. Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton reportedly asked Florida coach Mike White if he wanted to continue the game, and White chose to keep playing. FSU won, 83-71.
Johnson, a 6’5 junior wing, was the SEC preseason player of the year and entered the game averaging 19.7 points per game through Florida’s first three contests. Here’s video of the alley-oop dunk he threw down before collapsing:
Florida had paused basketball activities due to Covid on Nov. 22, but the program didn’t announce the extent of the positive tests. The AP is reporting that Johnson tested positive for Covid over the summer.
Our thoughts are with Johnson. We’ll update this story as it develops.
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