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On December 12th, 2020, current Kansas State Wildcats guard and former Florida Gators star Keyontae Johnson collapsed on the floor due to a medical emergency. After being hospitalized for 10 days, Johnson missed the remainder of the 2020-21 season and the entirety of the 2021-22 season.
Most thought Johnson would never step on a college court again, but last summer, he announced his return to the sport. However, it would not be at Florida. He’d enter the transfer portal and later announced his commitment to Kansas State.
The rest has been nothing short of magical.
Under first-year head coach Jerome Tang, Johnson and the Wildcats finished third in the Big 12 and earned a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Johnson earned Third-Team All-American and Big 12 First-Team honors, all after missing two years of action.
Last night, Kansas State won their first-round game over Montana State and will now face the 6-seed Kentucky Wildcats here in Greensboro on Sunday.
After the game, we got a chance to speak with Johnson, who talked at length about Oscar Tshiebwe and how he reached out multiple times following the injury and prayed for him. The two became close during that time.
Take a listen below as Johnson talks about his relationship with Tshiebwe while previewing Kentucky vs. Kansas State.
Keyontae Johnson previews Kentucky matchup and says that he and Oscar Tshiebwe are close because Oscar prayed for him and checked on him during his medical incident in 2021 pic.twitter.com/6WwIU9UxPu
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) March 18, 2023
Then during a media opportunity for Kentucky players to preview Kansas State, I asked Oscar about Johnson and his medical situation. He said they are “brothers,” adding he constantly reached out to Johnson to help him get through what was a very scary situation.
Take a listen below as Oscar speaks on his relationship with Johnson while previewing Kansas State.
Oscar Tshiebwe talks about checking in on Kansas State guard Keyontae Johnson when he was need, he talked about God answering prayers for Johnson and says he is a brother.
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) March 18, 2023
Also talks about facing Kansas state, rebounds and more. https://t.co/BFoGKnlukP pic.twitter.com/Gug7BtHjQl
The two All-Americans may be brothers in spirit and faith, but tomorrow night, they’ll battle for a spot in the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden.
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