College basketball star and NBA hopeful Keyontae Johnson returned to the court for the first time since his horrifying collapse back in 2020.
Back in December 2020, the small forward shockingly crashed onto the court as his Florida Gators faced the Florida State Seminoles. After the incident, Johnson was rushed to hospital in critical but stable condition where he was placed into a medically induced coma.
Three days later, Johnson was awake and functioning. Just over two weeks after his collapse, Johnson - who averaged 11.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest during his Florida career - had rejoined the team as a coach.
However, he had not yet returned to action as his basketball career was put on hold. Johnson was announced as the honorary starter on Senior Day against Kentucky on March 5 2022, and received a standing ovation when his name was declared.
On Monday, Johnson - who transferred to Kansas State in August - returned to competitive basketball. The 23-year-old was in the starting lineup for the Wildcats’ clash against the Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros.
He dropped 13 points and inspired the Wildcats to an emotional 93-59 victory. After the exceptional win, Johnson talked about how special the moment was for him following his remarkable comeback.
“I'm feeling good,” Johnson said. “Just thanking God every day for giving me the opportunity to get here and play again, just staying patient.
“The feeling before the game, I was a little emotional, but I knew the game was going to go so I had to keep going, just play and just lay everything right out for my team.”
Legendary college basketball announcer Dick Vitale was thrilled to see Johnson return in style. The 83-year-old took to Twitter to write: “Scored 13 points but it really was the BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY that he is healthy & doing what he LOVES!”
