[Update]: According to a statement put out by Florida Men’s Basketball, Johnson is now able to follow simple commands.
Florida basketball standout and NBA prospect Keyontae Johnson is now in a medically-induced coma at a Florida hospital, his grandfather told USA Today.
Johnson collapsed in the middle of a game Saturday against Florida State and was rushed to the hospital.
The school announced Sunday morning that Johnson was at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. The junior forward from Norfolk, Virginia, has since been transported to a facility in Gainesville.
Johnson’s grandfather, Larry DeJarnett, said that physicians at the hospital hoped to bring Johnson out of the coma by Monday afternoon.
“They’re just not sure,” DeJarnett told USA TODAY Sports in a phone interview. “He may have had activity in the brain, so they induced the coma. They put him on medication to keep him sedated.”
On Saturday evening the Associated Press reported that Johnson had previously tested positive for COVID-19, along with several other Florida basketball players, over summer. The disease has proven to have lasting detrimental effects on the heart that could prove especially dangerous for high-level athletes.
His grandfather says he is unsure if Johnson tested positive for the virus.
I know that there was some of the times when some of the team was quarantined, yes,” said DeJarnett to USA Today.” I don’t know if he was one of them or not.”
Our prayers are with Keyontae.
This is a developing story.