On Thursday night, Keyontae Johnson became the first Wildcat selected in the NBA Draft since Wesley Iwundu went No. 33 overall to the Orlando Magic in 2017. Johnson was selected with the 50th overall pick in the 2nd round by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Johnson transferred to K-State and played his final season of college basketball after his first four years came at Florida. A former top recruit, Johnson averaged 14.0 points per game 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore which earned him Preseason SEC Player of the Year honors ahead of his junior season. Just four games into the 2020-2021 season though, Johnson collapsed in a game against Florida State and was eventually diagnosed with “athlete’s heart.”
After spending a season on the sidelines and waiting for his return to college basketball, Johnson was medically cleared and decided to play his final season of college basketball for Jerome Tang at K-State.
With the Wildcats, Johnson immediately found his form during his time at Florida and averaged 17.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds, while shooting 41% from three. Johnson helped K-State go from dead last in the Big 12 in the preseason polls to a No. 9 final ranking in the coaches poll, and third place finish in the Big 12.
Individually, Johnson was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, All-Big 12 1st Team, and third-team All-American. Johnson also helped lead K-State back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2018.
