keyontae johnson.JPG
Keyontae Johnson is now in a medically induced coma, his grandfather told USA Today.
DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
  • A Florida basketball player collapsed on the hardwood unprovoked during the Gators’ matchup against the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday.
  • Keyontae Johnson is now in a medically induced coma, his grandfather told USA Today.
  • It’s unclear whether or not his condition is related to COVID-19, or if the 6-foot-5 junior has ever had the coronavirus.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A scary scene has left one college basketball star in critical but stable condition, according to his team.

According to his grandfather, the 6-foot-5 junior is in a medically induced coma.

After coming out of an early timeout during the first half of the Florida Gators’ Saturday matchup against the Florida State Seminoles, Gators forward and SEC Preseason Player of the Year, Keyontae Johnson collapsed seemingly unprovoked. The jarring scene saw Florida’s leading scorer falling face down onto the hardwood with a thud and his teammates frantically calling for help.

 

Shortly thereafter, Johnson was carted out of the gym on a stretcher and brought to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital for further medical attention. But even as the game continued – a decision FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton said was made by the Gators’ staff – players from both sides, particularly his teammates, were visibly shaken by what had transpired.

On Monday, the official Twitter account for Florida's men's basketball program announced that Johnson had been transferred to UF Health in Gainesville and that he was in "critical but stable condition." But Johnson's grandfather, Larry DeJarnett, told USA Today that his 21-year-old grandson was placed in a medically induced coma.

"They're just not sure," DeJarnett told USA Today. "He may have had activity in the brain, so they induced the coma. They put him on medication to keep him sedated."

keyontae johnson
Keyontae Johnson.
AP Photo/Michael Conroy

It remains unclear what caused Johnson's sudden and terrifying collapse. The Gators halted team activities as much of the squad was placed in quarantine following positive COVID-19 tests in their ranks, but the program did not disclose whether its star was one of the players to test positive. DeJarnett wasn't even sure whether or not his grandson had ever been diagnosed with the coronavirus.  

"I know that there was some of the times when some of the team was quarantined, yes," DeJarnett confirmed to USA Today on a call. "I don't know if he was one of them or not."

keyontae johnson
It remains unclear what caused Keyontae Johnson's sudden and terrifying collapse.
AP Photo/Matt Stamey

Florida will next take the floor on Wednesday against the North Florida Ospreys, and the Gators will all but certainly be without their star for the foreseeable future.

Read the original article on Insider