This has been one of, if not the most crazy week in Florida basketball history and all I can say is that I’m immensely happy that the most recent updates on Keyontae Johnson’s condition have been positive. Most recently, Scott Stricklin said he was talking and joking around with teammates over FaceTime and I’m no medical professional but that sounds like a great sign.
After an incredibly tough week, here are a few of my thoughts.
For a moment, I want to remember all that I have loved about Keyontae Johnson as a basketball player so far.
Johnson is a spectacular athlete and he, like most great athletes in basketball, gets stereotyped as players who are only as good as they are because of their God-given gifts. In the case of Keyontae Johnson that couldn’t be further from the truth. Johnson is an incredibly fundamentally sound basketball player who uses strong technique as much as athleticism to get the job done.
Due to his level of muscle mass his release can look a bit mechanical, but when you look at the motion it’s actually a picture perfect release. He gets his feet set, his elbow straight, and his wrist back, and it’s the reason he has been such a consistent shooter.
While his explosive first step can get him by a lot of defenders in isolation it’s his ability to attack closeouts that is better than just about anyone in the country. He knows when a defender is vulnerable and can attack their weak foot in a way that makes it difficult for them to recover, and he turns it into free passes towards the rim. It’s not a skill that gets discussed a lot in basketball but he makes it into an art form and does it better than most players.
Of course, it is a ton of fun to watch him dunk. His timing to go up for jumps on alley-oops is magnificent, and he’s the kind of explosive leaper that looks like he’s suspended in mid air for some time before throwing down the hammer. There is so much to love about Johnson’s game and it has been a treat to watch him up to this point.
There was no way to make a “right” decision on Saturday regarding whether or not to continue the game.
Ever since the incident most coverage has revolved around the well-wishing towards Johnson which is fantastic. However, there has still been plenty of discussion regarding Florida’s decision to continue playing the game, with most of it being criticism in the Gators’ direction.
In my opinion, this criticism of Mike White, the players, and whoever has caught flack for playing the game is completely unfair.
Expecting them to make the “right” decision in the moment is entirely unfair. It was impossible to know at the time what the severity of the situation was, and with the adrenaline of the game and the shock of the decision coursing through the veins of everyone involved it’s tough to gauge all the possible outcomes in the minute they were given to make the choice.
Additionally, what ultimately happened is so out of the normal realm of possibilities for what happens in athletic competition. Bad looking injuries and medical episodes are unfortunately not that uncommon and most of these players and coaches have experienced something gruesome in the past. However, almost certainly none of those experiences would have resulted in what happened to Johnson, and therefore in the moment of deciding whether or not to play the thought of him being in a medically induced coma a day and a half later wouldn’t have even entered their mind.
Nor should it have.
I take particular offense to people who days later saw where the situation was at and said Florida made the wrong decision. Sure, with the benefit of looking at the situation 2 and a half days later, hindsight is 20/20. If Florida could turn back time and make a different decision, would they? Probably. However, that doesn’t make the decision in the moment the wrong one. I wish people would just focus on Johnson getting healthy and wishing him well and not try to skewer Florida for what was an impossible decision without a right or wrong decision.
If something basketball related has to be taken from the Florida State game…
It feels strange to talk about this game from a purely basketball standpoint but I’ve got to say–Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis really played well despite the circumstances and I think it deserves acknowledgement. These were two players that looked entirely uncomfortable against the Seminoles a year prior and their ability to score on Saturday against a great defense that was stacked up against them shows the strides they have made.
Look, the Seminoles are a great team this year. Against Florida they hit 50% of their threes which they may not do for the rest of the season. The Gators were obviously missing their best player and gave up a massive run because of what occurred.
Yet, Florida State wasn’t able to blow them away and the Gators kept it respectable. While pretty much everything about Saturday sucked greatly, it’s worth acknowledging that the Gators do have some special pieces and could be pretty good this year.
As of right now, I’m hearing Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic will be a go.
This comes from sources at Florida Atlantic, not Florida, and there is a whole lot that could change between now and then. We have seen games cancelled in less than 24 hours for less important stuff than what is going on with Florida, so up until, who knows, Saturday morning? Anything is fair game.
Florida Atlantic is coached by former Florida assistant Dusty May. He never got to coach Johnson but had the chance to help recruiting him to the Gators. Given his connection to the Florida program I’m sure there will be no resistance if the game does need to be cancelled at the last minute.
It’s worth noting that North Florida was also really good about everything with the cancellation for Wednesday’s game. They’ve played the Gators 6 times in the last decade, a fixture of Florida’s non-conference schedule, and I’m guessing that relationship will continue in 2021.
Talk of a possible outgoing transfer is out there, floating around.
On Friday night a Fairleigh Dickinson player named Xzavier Malone-Keys will be announcing his transfer decision and Florida is one of his five final schools.
This might sound strange because currently the Gators don’t have any open scholarships. However, Florida might be looking for a contingency plan for if a player ends up leaving midseason, which I am hearing is a possibility.
In normal years a midseason transfer is often a last resort for a situation that is really not working out. However, this season is different. The year of eligibility isn’t being counted, and the one-time transfer rule is supposedly going into effect after this season so the normal awkwardness of a midseason transfer won’t be there.
Currently there is one Gator reporting to not love his role with the team who may be looking for other options. The feeling may be mutual, as the staff reportedly may not be particularly happy with the way this player arrived on campus this season ready (or not, I should say) to play. I’ll let you speculate on who that name may be.
I’m not particularly high on Malone-Keys, to be honest. He’s a decent scorer, but he came from a low-major league where he only averaged 12 points a year ago. At 6’4” he has decent size in the backcourt, but if he came to the SEC he’s likely no more than a depth piece. He is a grad transfer, so there is a possibility he could come to Florida this year and then transfer out after the season either as a second grad transfer (since this year doesn’t count towards a player’s eligibility–it’s a bit murky regarding how this will work for graduate transfers) or utilizing the free one time transfer.
Would coming to Florida halfway through the season to be the second guard off the bench be the best situation for Malone-Keys? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s news you should be aware of.
That’s all for this week, let’s run it back next Thursday!