Florida's Keyontae Johnson Plans to Play Basketball Again After in-Game Collapse

Florida men's basketball player Keyontae Johnson collapsed during a Dec. 12 game vs. Florida State and has been ruled out for the season for undisclosed health reasons, though the SEC Preseason Player of the Year plans to eventually return to the court. 

"I do. Right now, until the doctors say otherwise, I'm going to stick with the positive mindset that I'm playing again," he told Chris Harry of FloridaGators.com when asked if he thinks he'll play again. "Some time. Yes, I do." 

And how does Johnson's family feel about that?

"My dad is staying positive. My mom is, as well," he said. "I remember her saying, 'What happens if the doctors say you can't play again?' I told her, 'I don't know. We're not at that situation, yet.' If that happened, I'd probably want to be a coach and take what I've learned from here and try to be a step ahead. But my mindset is I'm going to play again." 

A cardiologist happened to be sitting courtside when Johnson collapsed and rushed onto the court to help him, perhaps helping to save his life. 

"I would say I'm blessed to be here, yes. There's just not a lot more to say that that," Johnson said. "I was passed out. I could have died. She jumped out on the court and saved me. If it isn't for her, I may not have had a second chance in life. You just can't take life for granted."

Johnson's health issues were not related to COVID-19, another fortunate piece of news for the young basketball star who averaged 14 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore and 16 points per game in four contests this season. 

Johnson said that he watched the video of his collapse while he was recovering in the hospital:

"Oh yeah, I watched it in the hospital. My mom didn't want me to see it, but I watched it. I mean, I had to rewind it back a couple times. When I first saw it, I was like, 'Damn!' My mom was surprised by my reaction because usually I don't have a lot of reaction to stuff, but that was different. I wanted to see the video that everyone was talking about. My mom had kept my phone for like three days after I woke up, even though I wanted it back on that second day. When I got it back, I'd seen how my phone was blowing up. First thing I did was go to YouTube and typed in 'Keyontae Johnson collapse' and it was right there."

While Johnson can't play for the remainder of the season, he's been helping the Gators by coaching and scouting during the season, keeping himself involved with the team. 

"In the past, we'd had some guys, some instances, where players got hurt and mentally kind of went away. Got disengaged. I wanted to learn from that and stay engaged," Johnson said. "This was the best way I could also learn while not playing and still study guys, study teams, study plays. I like it."

For Johnson, however, the hope is that it will be a temporary role and he'll be able to return to the court before long.