Ex-Cats

Has his time arrived? Former Cat Keldon Johnson making push for NBA minutes.

Three University of Kentucky basketball players were chosen in the first round of last summer’s NBA Draft.

PJ Washington went No. 12 to the Charlotte Hornets and has been a starter all season.

Tyler Herro went No. 13 to the Miami Heat and has been a revelation as a rookie.

Keldon Johnson went No. 29 to the San Antonio Spurs and … what?

While Washington (11.9 points per game) and Herro (13.1) regularly turn up on “SportsCenter” highlights throwing down dunks or splashing audacious three-pointers, what has become of their former Wildcats teammate?

You haven’t heard much about the one-and-done from Kentucky since draft night, but that might be about to change.

Johnson was named this week to the Midseason All-G-League Team. The team was voted on by G-League coaches, general managers and players.

The Spurs have taken things slowly with the 6-foot-5 swingman, who turned 20 in October. He has appeared in only four Spurs games and played a total of 12 NBA minutes, spending the bulk of his time with the Austin (Texas) Spurs of the G-League.

Johnson, who is earning $1,950,600 this season, is averaging 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 29 games for the Austin Spurs, 28 of which he’s started. The team’s leading scorer, Johnson is making 52.3 percent of his shots from the field but has hit only 21.3 percent of his three-point attempts (19 of 89).

Johnson made his NBA debut Nov. 22 and did not appear again in a Spurs game until Jan. 4. He has made two appearances already in February — on Feb. 1 against Charlotte and Feb. 4 versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs stood 10th in the NBA’s Western Conference at 23-31 entering games on Wednesday, 4½ games out of the eighth and final playoff spot. As long as San Antonio remains in playoff contention, Johnson might have to wait his turn but, for now, the former Wildcat is making good use of his time.

This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 1:50 PM.

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