Gators Forward Keyontae Johson Announces Return for Junior Season

The Florida Gators received some good news on Tuesday, as forward Keyontae Johnson has announced that he will return for his junior season.

I can’t wait to get back and play with my brothers again next season! We’ve got unfinished business & the Gators will be ready to go. I’m excited to keep growing on and off the court with Coach White and our coaching staff here & keep playing in front of the gator family💙💙 pic.twitter.com/eRrOu39AyH
— Keyontae (@Keyontae) April 14, 2020

"I can’t wait to get back and play with my brothers again next season!" Johnson said in a tweet. "We’ve got unfinished business and the Gators will be ready to go. I’m excited to keep growing on and off the court with Coach White and our coaching staff here and keep playing in front of the Gator family."

Johnson, 20, is fresh off of a breakout campaign where he was arguably Florida's most consistently effective player. Earning Coaches All-SEC First Team and AP All-SEC Second Team honors for his efforts, Johnson led Florida in points per game with 14 and total steals with 38, finishing second with 7.1 rebounds per game. Johnson's three 20-point/10-rebound showings were the most by any Gators player since Marreese Speights in 2007-08.

The 6'5", 231-pound small forward is a crazy athlete, formerly posting a 41.5-inch vertical jump which allows him to dominate the frontcourt and defend the paint. Johnson arguably had the best case to declare out of any UF player this year.

Johnson joins Scottie Lewis in announcing their returns to Florida, rather than testing the NBA waters. With the novel coronavirus pandemic shutting down the sports world and casting a cloud over the upcoming 2020 NBA draft, scheduled for June 25, it's easy to understand prospects electing to return to school to secure a cleaner draft process in 2021 or beyond.

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