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Former Texas Longhorn Gary Johnson to make recovery after skull fracture

Gary Johnson

Former Texas standout Gary Johnson is expected to make a full recovery after suffering a skull fracture and being put into a medically induced coma following an injury in a game with his professional team in Israel, the Associated Press is reporting.

According to Israel Basketball Association spokesman Hagai Segal, Johnson was awake and communicative and will undergo plastic surgery, but will recover.

Johnson reportedly caught an elbow from Johndre Jefferson, a former South Carolina and current Elitzur Ramla forward. Jefferson recounted the incident to the AP:

“Gary made a step-through move, and when he was going up I was close enough to block the shot and I blocked it on the backboard,” Jefferson said. “I don’t know how it happened, but when I was coming down my elbow caught him in the forehead.

“When we both came down I was standing over his feet trying to tap him on his side to ask him if he was OK. He was holding his head and kind of rolling around.”


Johnson played at Texas from 2007-11 and reached the NCAA tournament four times. During his freshman season, the Longhorns reached the Elite Eight. He averaged 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a senior.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_