Johnson starts for K-State 2 years after collapse

For the archetypal clip successful astir 2 years, Keyontae Johnson returned to the hoops tribunal successful a competitory crippled connected Monday -- and didn't look excessively dissimilar the subordinate who earned preseason SEC Player of the Year and first-round NBA draught hype successful 2020.

Johnson, present a subordinate of Kansas State aft transferring from Florida past spring, hadn't played since collapsing during a crippled successful December 2020. On Monday, helium started successful the Wildcats' 93-59 season-opening win implicit UT Rio Grande Valley and finished with 13 points, 4 assists and 3 3-pointers.

"I'm feeling good, conscionable thanking God each time for giving maine the accidental to get present and play again, conscionable staying patient," Johnson said. "Before the game, I was a small emotional, but I knew the crippled was going to spell truthful I had to support going, conscionable play and laic everything retired for my team."

Johnson's archetypal points successful 23 months came connected a 3-pointer with 14 minutes near successful the archetypal half, and helium followed that up with different 3-pointer little than 1 infinitesimal later.

"Like I told the guys tonight, whether you felt you played good oregon didn't play good oregon played a batch oregon didn't play -- cipher should beryllium unhappy contiguous due to the fact that Keyontae Johnson played a hoops game, a existent game, an NCAA hoops crippled for the archetypal clip successful 2 years," said first-year Kansas State manager Jerome Tang.

Johnson was averaging 16.0 points successful the archetypal 4 games of the 2020-21 play erstwhile helium fell face-first to the level coming retired of a first-half timeout during the Gators' crippled astatine Florida State connected Dec. 12, 2020. He was rushed to a Tallahassee hospital, wherever helium was stabilized earlier being transported to a Gainesville hospital. He was released connected Dec. 22, 10 days aft collapsing.

Johnson wasn't cleared to play oregon signifier astatine Florida successful the play and a fractional pursuing the incident, but started for the Gators connected Senior Day past season. He received the opening tipoff and called timeout earlier kneeling down to buss the level and being subbed retired of the game.

Johnson graduated from Florida past outpouring and opted to play elsewhere for his last twelvemonth of eligibility. He chose Kansas State successful August implicit Nebraska, Western Kentucky and Memphis, getting medically cleared to play successful the process.

Tang said earlier this period that Johnson played 31 minutes successful a preseason scrimmage, and the Virginia autochthonal besides played 17 minutes successful an accumulation crippled against Washburn past week.