Morez Johnson Jr.
| Michigan Wolverines | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||
| League | Big Ten Conference | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | January 25, 2006 | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Thornton Township (Harvey, Illinois) St. Rita of Cascia (Chicago, Illinois) | ||||||||||||||
| College | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Morez Johnson Jr. (born January 25, 2006) is an American college basketball player for the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Johnson represented the United States national team at the 2024 FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup, winning a gold medal.
High school career
[edit]Johnson played his first three seasons at St. Rita of Cascia High School in Chicago, before transferring to Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois for his final season.[1] As a senior, he was named the Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2024.[2]
Recruiting
[edit]In April 2021, Johnson received his first division 1 offer from Providence following his freshman season. After receiving an offer from Illinois in June 2021, he committed to play for his home-state school before the start of his sophomore season on November 5, 2021. At the time of his commitment he also held offers from Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Texas, amongst others. He was ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of Illinois and the No. 30 overall player in the country in 247Sports composite rankings in 2024.[3]
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morez Johnson Jr. F/C |
Riverdale, IL | Thornton Township | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Nov 5, 2021 | |
Recruit ratings: Rivals:  247Sports: ESPN: (89)
| ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 27 247Sports: 31 ESPN: 29 | ||||||
Sources: | ||||||
College career
[edit]Illinois
[edit]Johnson enrolled at the University of Illinois in 2024, playing for head coach Brad Underwood and the Fighting Illini.[4] On November 4, 2024, in his first collegiate game he had three points, eight rebounds and blocked a career-high six shots against Eastern Illinois. On November 26 against UMES, Johnson had 10 points and 13 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench, his first career double-double. On January 8, 2025, he scored a career-high 20 points with 11 rebounds against Penn State, his second double-double. On February 2 against Ohio State, Johnson scored 14 points with a career-high 15 rebounds, his third double-double.[5]
On February 15, Johnson broke his wrist against Michigan State.[6] He missed the rest of the regular season and returned in the 2025 Big Ten tournament.[7] Following the end of his freshman season, Johnson entered the NCAA transfer portal. He played in 30 games and started eight times for Illinois, averaging 7.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.[8]
Michigan
[edit]On April 1, 2025, Johnson transferred to the University of Michigan to play for head coach Dusty May.[9]
Team USA career
[edit]Johnson represented the United States national team at the 2024 FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup in Argentina. He played all six games and averaged 8.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, leading the United States in rebounding as they won the gold medal. Michigan Wolverines teammate Trey McKenney was also on the national team.[10]
Career statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | Illinois | 30 | 8 | 17.6 | .642 | – | .618 | 6.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 7.0 |
References
[edit]- ^ Hall, Erik. "Morez Johnson Jr.: 3 things to know about the Illinois Fighting Illini basketball forward". The Telegraph.
- ^ "Illinois Recruit Morez Johnson Wins Illinois Mr. Basketball". Sports Illustrated. 12 April 2024.
- ^ "Morez Johnson Jr. Recruiting Profile". 247Sports. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ "Top-100 prospect Morez Johnson signs with Illinois". SB Nation. 9 November 2023.
- ^ "Morez Johnson Jr. Game Log (2024-25)". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
- ^ "Illinois loses forward Morez Johnson Jr. to broken wrist". ESPN.com. 17 February 2025.
- ^ "Morez Johnson Jr. to return for postseason play". WCIA.com. 11 March 2025.
- ^ "Illinois forward Morez Johnson enters NCAA transfer portal". On3.com. 28 March 2025.
- ^ Kahn, Andrew (April 1, 2025). "Michigan basketball adds Big Ten freshman from transfer portal". MLive.com. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ "FIBA U18 AmeriCup 2024 (stats)". FIBA. June 3–9, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2025.