Keyontae Johnson #11 of the Florida Gators is defended by Tre’Shawn Thurman #0 of the Nevada Wolf Pack in the second half during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFP
University of Florida star forward Keyontae Johnson was in critical but stable condition in hospital after collapsing on court early in the Gators’ loss to Florida State in Tallahassee on Saturday.
Johnson, a third-year player who was named the top pre-season men’s basketball player in the Southeastern Conference, had slammed home an alley-oop dunk and celebrated with teammates minutes into the contest and was heading into a huddle during a timeout when he fell to the court.
As team medical staff attended him teammates, some of them crying, gathered together in concern along with coach Mike White.
After Johnson was stretchered off, play eventually resumed, host Florida State going on to a 83-71 victory.
After the game, the Gators said they had no new update on Johnson’s condition and White said he would stay with his player in Tallahassee while the rest of the team returned to the school’s Gainesville campus.
White didn’t speak to reporters but tweeted: “Please keep praying for @Keyontae and his family. We all love him.”
Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton spoke to reporters after the game, discussing the decision to continue the contest.
“I told our staff I was going to let them make that decision,” he said, adding that he hadn’t spoken to White but was told the Gators coach discussed it with his players before opting to go on.
“I did not see what happened, but it had a really dramatic effect on my team,” Hamilton said. “We’re just all hopeful and praying he’s OK, so I can imagine if it affected our players in an emotional way, I can imagine what the situation was with his teammates.”