Gators forward Keyontae Johnson, who passed on a shot at a spot in the NBA Draft this past offseason to return to Florida for his junior year, is already racking up some preseason accolades from publications.
In CBS Sports’ SEC preview, Johnson was named the preseason SEC Player of the Year. He’s coming off a 2019-20 season in which he was named to the First Team All-SEC after leading the Gators in scoring.
Now, he’s receiving tremendous hype, and many expect him to be one of the nation’s top players this season.
Here’s what CBS’ Gary Parrish said about him.
SEC Preseason Player of the Year
Keyontae Johnson, Florida
Most people assumed, this time last year, that Kerry Blackshear Jr., a graduate-transfer from Virginia Tech, would be Florida’s best player in the 2019-20 season. But he wasn’t. Instead, it was Keyontae Johnson, a 6-foot-5 forward who averaged a team-high 14.0 points and 7.1 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game. When he announced in April that he was returning for his junior season, it was a great development for the Gators. He’s the biggest reason Florida is expected to finish in the top four of the SEC standings for what would be the fourth time in a five-year span under Mike White, who is entering his sixth season at the school.
This is an important year for both Johnson, who returned with the hopes of becoming a first-round pick, and the Gators, who haven’t quite lived up to expectations in most of White’s first five seasons.
But they’re loaded with talent and experience this year, and they’ll look to players like Johnson to take them to the next level.
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