Oscar Tshiebwe and Keyontae Johnson share unexpected brotherhood

Keyontae Johnson saw his life flash before his eyes back in December 2020, never mind his basketball future. A Florida Gator at the time, he collapsed to the floor in the middle of a game vs. Florida State and was immediately rushed to the hospital and placed in a medically induced coma. Hospitalized for ten days, he was ultimately diagnosed with acute myocarditis, forcing him to miss the remainder of the 2020-21 season and all of 2021-22 — but he survived.

Then 20 months later, he was medically cleared to play basketball again, a separate miracle in itself.

The 6-foot-6 wing then hit the transfer portal and took his talents to Kansas State, quickly emerging as the Wildcats’ best player. He averaged 17.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this season, named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-Big 12. And now, his team is in the NCAA Tournament, one win away from a Sweet 16 birth.

“I just thank God for a second chance,” Johnson said Thursday evening. “I thank Coach (Jerome) Tang for giving me the opportunity to play for his team.”

A close friend and brother, though, stands in his way from advancing to the second weekend. That person? None other than Kentucky superstar Oscar Tshiebwe, someone Johnson has known since high school and connected with in recent years, specifically following the medical emergency.

When the standout wing was slowly but surely recovering in the hospital and back home, Tshiebwe regularly checked in on Johnson and offered prayers. It was a gesture that still sticks with the Gator-turned-Wildcat.

“I have known him since high school. He was one of — the main person that reached out to me when I was going through my — when I collapsed in the game,” Johnson said. “We have just been close since then. I text him. He texts here and there, probably once every two months or something. But we are real cool. Like one of my brothers. … I’m really cool with Oscar, it’s going to be a good matchup. Much respect to him.”

“That is my brother. … He is my boy,” Tshiebwe responded. “I knew him since high school, so when he went through everything, I just reached out to him and I told him, ‘I’m keeping you in my prayers. Just keep praying. Let’s just keep trusting in God. God is going to bring you better than you were before.’

“That’s how our friendship is good. Reach out sometimes, check up on him once in a while to see how he is doing.”

Johnson has played Kentucky four different times over the course of his career at Florida, losing every matchup. His biggest performance against the Wildcats came in a 19-point, nine-rebound effort back in Feb. 2020. Then later that year, his entire world changed, only recently returning to find some semblance of normalcy. Looking for a fresh start at Kansas State, he has found it, leading the Wildcats to a top-50 offense and defense in adjusted efficiency and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

And now, that path leads him to a head-to-head battle with an old friend in a win-or-go-home scenario for both teams. The biggest game of each of their respective careers.

It’s exactly what Tshiebwe was praying for from the beginning, the opportunity to physically see Johnson return to game action as the clear star he is. This time, though, it’ll be face-to-face on the basketball floor in the NCAA Tournament.

“Our relationship is great,” he told KSR. “Since I saw him struggling and going through a lot, I reached out and I said, ‘Man, know I’m praying for you and let’s stay strong. God is going to bring you back better than you were before. He’s going to do great things for you, stay strong.’

“Then he started reaching out to me, seeing how I’m doing. Said, ‘Good game, man, keep it up. Good work.’ My prayer was for him to get back and play, so I thank God, because I can see him now. And I get to go up against him. It’s so amazing and I’m so happy.”

That last part sticks out to Tshiebwe. Johnson was the one dealing with the life-threatening emergency, one that very easily could have ended his basketball career. He’s the one that needed every positive thought and prayer imaginable to get back on his feet.

Yet there he was, reaching out to Tshiebwe to check on him and make sure everything was good on his end. It was an unnecessary but appreciated gesture.

“That is love. True love, my dad told me, is when you are going through a lot, but you’re reaching out to other people and telling them, ‘I’m here for you.’ That’s true love,” Tshiebwe said of Johnson. “True love is caring for others, not just for yourself. He was going through a lot, he had the pain. But he was the one reaching out, reaching out to me, other people.”

Acute myocarditis is the inflammation of the myocardium, the middle muscular layer of the heart wall. And that makes perfect sense for Tshiebwe.

“That’s love, and that’s why he’s going to succeed, go far,” he told KSR. “His heart is big.”

The two will face off in Greensboro at 2:40 p.m. ET, live on CBS.