Florida got some wonderful news on Tuesday as Keyontae Johnson announced that he’ll be foregoing the NBA Draft and returning to Florida for his junior season. After an incredibly productive sophomore campaign that saw him average 14 points, 17.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while hitting 38% of his threes NBA teams took notice and he starting darting up draft boards, ultimately ending up as someone who would likely be drafted in the second round with some buzz that he could get into the late first.
Much uncertainty surrounds the NBA Draft as a date for the lottery is yet to be announced and it’s likely it will be moved later in the summer, as late as the end of August according to sources. The league already announced that no video of workouts is allowed to be exchanged between potential draftees and NBA teams and that means a player’s stock would be gauged exclusively on his college tape and on video interviews. A traditional combine experience or individual workouts would have done wonders for Johnson to showcase his athleticism and while his college tape speaks for itself, the uncertainty of the interview process is enough to make players feel uneasy and it could have certainly played a role in his decision to return to Florida.
In what will almost certainly be his last year at Florida, Johnson will likely be continuing to work on his playmaking ability off the bounce. His ability to catch and shoot the three in addition to his athleticism is what has teams interested but if he can become more of a playmaker off the dribble he could find himself climbing up the draft board. With most projections currently seeing him in the second round this season, a jump to the first round after this year could be worth over a million dollars over the course of a 3-year entry level deal.
With Johnson joining Lewis in returning the Gators suddenly have a lot of returning talent that they weren’t necessarily expecting and that will give them a lot of promise entering the season. Florida was one of the most inexperienced teams in the country last season but that will be changed with the return of Johnson and Lewis, as well as the activation of redshirt transfers Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji.
The Gators now have one more player they’re waiting on a draft decision from, Andrew Nembhard. He was considered the most likely to return out of the trio of possible pro prospects and with the other two returning it could be even more enticing for him to come back as the possibility to have a tremendous team is within his grasp. A successful season for the Gators would help the pro prospects of all players involved, and if Nembhard joins Johnson and Lewis in returning the Gators will be in outstanding shape. Even if Nembhard leaves, the return of Johnson and Lewis is massive and the team will likely face lofty expectations once again.
Johnson will be in the mix for preseason SEC player of the year and it wouldn’t be shocking to find him on preseason national player of the year lists as well. If that’s the case it will be the second year in a row that the Gators have a player in those conversations after Kerry Blackshear Jr. was in the mix before last season and it speaks to the tremendous talent that Mike White and the coaching staff is getting at Florida.
We saw the Gators struggle with handling expectations before last season and the return of Johnson means they’re about to have the same situation. However, with a year under the belts of most players, they should be much better equipped to handle it and should have a chip on their shoulders as they try to prove what they can accomplish as a group.