Nebraska Basketball: Potential impact of landing transfer Keyontae Johnson
By Bryan Mauro
The calendar reads the middle of August and football is getting geared up so many put College Basketball on the backburner. Those of us who always keep this sport at the top also realize that this is prime time for breaking news and today Jamie Shaw of On3 dropped a big tidbit that not many are talking about. The 2020 preseason SEC Player of the year Keyontae Johnson, who is in the transfer portal has taken an official visit to Nebraska Basketball.
This has had virtually no fanfare, none of the Nebraska writers have begun talking about it and it is the last visit of the allotment for Johnson, and he is set to pick his new school in the next seven days. The senior guard has a final list of Nebraska, Memphis, Western Kentucky, and Kansas State. So why would a player who was at one time the preseason SEC player of the year transfer and why does his transfer list look like it does? That is a great question, and the answer is there are a lot of question marks with Johnson and his health.
In 2020, had the wing played the full season, there is zero doubt in my mind that Johnson would have run away with the SEC player of the year, been a lottery pick, and would be receiving meaningful minutes in the NBA. The exact opposite happened as early on in a game against rival Florida State, the wing was finishing off a dunk and while listening in the media timeout he collapsed.
He was diagnosed with acute myocarditis which has been linked to Covid 19. Johnson wants everyone to know that his condition is not related to Covid 19. He was also linked to an assault of a young female at Florida, but those charges have since been dropped against him. As of this writing, the wing has yet to be cleared medically to return to the basketball floor.
The impact to Nebraska could be great if he decides to bring his basketball talents to Nebraska. There are going to be both positive impacts and negative impacts.