Morez Johnson Jr.

Class:
Sophomore
Position:
F
Height:
6-9
Weight:
250
Hometown:
Riverdale, Ill.
High School:
Thornton Township

Pronunciations
• First name pronounced: more-REZ
• During broadcasts, respectfully asks for “Junior” be used when referring to him.

Career Highlights
• All-Big Ten Defensive Team (2026)
• All-Big Ten second team (coaches); third team (media) (2026)
• NCAA All-Tournament Team (2026)
• NABC All-Great Lakes District second team (2026)
• Academic All-Big Ten (2026)
• Member of the 2026 National Championship Team
   • Defeated No. 2 seed UConn, 69-63, to claim U-M’s second national title
• Helped U-M to a program-record 37-3 record (2025-26)
   • Set records for most wins (37) and fewest losses (3)
• Helped U-M capture the 2026 Players Era Championship in Las Vegas
   • Rolled to three straight 30+ point wins over three days (+36.7 average margin)
   • San Diego State (94-54; +40), No. 21 Auburn (102-72; +30), No. 12 Gonzaga (101-61; +40)
• Helped U-M secure the 2026 Big Ten regular-season title
   • Posted a program- and Big Ten-record 19-1 conference mark
   • Won title by four games, earning No. 1 seed in Big Ten Tournament
   • Went 10-0 in Big Ten road games, first team to do so in 50 years (Indiana, 1976)
• 2026 NCAA Tournament (No. 3 overall seed; No. 1 Midwest seed)
   • First Round: Defeated No. 16 Howard, 101-80
   • Second Round: Defeated No. 9 Saint Louis, 95-72
   • Sweet 16: Defeated No. 4 Alabama, 90-77
       • Seventh straight Sweet 16 appearance
   • Elite Eight: Defeated No. 6 Tennessee, 95-62
       • Fifth Elite Eight appearance in the last 10 tournaments
   • Final Four: Defeated No. 1 Arizona, 91-73
       • Ninth Final Four appearance
   • National Championship: Defeated No. 2 UConn, 69-63
       • First national title in 37 years (since 1989); second in program history

Season: 2025-26 (Michigan)
• Started all 40 games, one of three Wolverines to do so
   • Michigan debut against Oakland (Nov. 3): 24 points, three rebounds, three assists
• Averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game
   • One of four Wolverines to average 10-plus points
       • Posted 30 double-figure games, with five of 20-plus
       • Career-high 29 points against No. 24 USC (Jan. 2)
   • Posted 32 games of five-plus rebounds, with 10 games of 10-plus
       • Career-high 16 rebounds at Washington (Jan. 14)
       • Posted nine additional games of 10+ rebounds
   • Logged 36 games of 20-plus minutes, with four of 30-plus
       • Season-high 33 minutes at No. 10 Illinois (Feb. 27)
• Posted nine double-doubles (point-rebound)
   • 10 points, 12 rebounds at TCU (Nov. 14)
   • 24 points, 11 rebounds against McNeese (Dec. 29)
   • 18 points, 16 rebounds at Washington
   • 17 points, 12 rebounds against No. 5 Nebraska (Jan. 27)
   • 11 points, 12 rebounds at Ohio State (Feb. 8)
   • 12 points, 11 rebounds at No. 7 Purdue (Feb. 17)
   • 19 points, 11 rebounds at No. 10 Illinois
   • 21 points, 10 rebounds vs. Howard (March 19) in NCAA First Round
   • 12 points, 10 rebounds vs. UConn (April 6) in NCAA Championship
• Added 48 assists (1.2 apg), 44 blocks (1.1 bpg) and 27 steals
   • Career-high four assists vs. Arizona (April 4) in NCAA Final Four
   • Season-high three blocks, three times: Rutgers (Dec. 6), at Maryland (Dec. 13), at Northwestern (Feb. 11)
   • Career-high three steals, three times: Rutgers, La Salle (Dec. 21), UCLA (Feb. 14)
• Shot 62.3 percent from the field (195-for-313)
   • Posted 21 games of five-plus field goals, with two of 10-plus
   • Career-high 10 field goals, twice: Oakland (Nov. 3) and No. 24 USC
• Shot 12-for-35 (34.3 percent) from long range
   • Career-high two three-pointers, twice: Rutgers and at Iowa (March 5)
   • Made first career three-pointer against Rutgers, finishing 2-for-2

Season: 2024-25 (Illinois)
• Played in 30 games, with eight starts
   • Collegiate debut against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 4): three points, eight rebounds, six blocks
   • First collegiate start at Michigan State (Jan. 19): 11 points and six rebounds
• Averaged 7.0 points, 6.7 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game
   • Posted eight double-figure games
       • Season-high 20 points against Penn State (Jan. 8)
   • Posted 22 games of five-plus rebounds, with five of 10-plus
       • Season-high 15 rebounds vs. Ohio State (Feb. 2)
   • Logged 12 games of 20-plus minutes, and two of 30-plus
       • Career-high 34 minutes against Northwestern (Jan. 26)
• Posted three double doubles (point-rebound)
   • 10 points, 13 rebounds against Maryland Eastern Shore (Nov. 23)
   • 20 points, 11 rebounds against Penn State
   • 14 points, 15 rebounds against Ohio State
• Added eight assists, 33 blocks and 12 steals
   • Season-high two assists vs. Maryland (March 14) in Big Ten Tournament
   • Posted five games of three-plus blocks, with one of five-plus
       • Career-high six blocks against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 4)
   • Season-high two steals, three times: vs. Arkansas (Nov. 28), Chicago State (Dec. 29), Michigan State (Feb. 15)
• Shot 64.2 percent from the field (77-for-120)
   • Season-high nine field goals against Penn State

Prep Career
• Consensus national top-40 four-star recruit
   • Rankings: Rivals (27), ESPN (29), 247Sports (30) and On3 (37)
   • Ranked as the No. 1 overall player in Illinois
• Illinois Mr. Basketball (2024)
• Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year (2024)
• IBCA All-State: Class 3A first team (2024); Class 4A first team (2023); third team (2022)
• Associated Press All-State: Class 4A second team (2022)
• Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year (2024)
• Chicago Sun-Times All-Area (2022, 2023, 2024)
• All-Chicago Catholic League: first team (2023); second team (2022); honorable mention (2021)
• Champaign News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year (2024)
• As a senior (2023-24), led Thornton Township to a 29-5 record, the Class 3A Super Sectional, sectional championship and Southland title while averaging 20.0 points, 15.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and recording 27 double-doubles
• As a junior (2022-23), led St. Rita to a 23-11 record, the Class 4A Regional title, Class 4A Sectional semifinal and Catholic League Blue Division title while averaging 18.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks
• As a sophomore (2021-22), helped St. Rita to a 23-12 record, the Class 4A Regional title, the Class 4A Sectional final and a runner-up finish in the Catholic League Blue Division
• Named to the 2023 Nike EYBL Peach Jam first team and earned Pool Play MVP honors
   • Averaged 17.0 points and a tournament-best 13.2 rebounds per game

USA Basketball
• Helped United States to two gold medals across U18 and U19 play
   • 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup (Switzerland); gold medal
   • Averaged 9.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 18.6 minutes per game
   • Quarterfinal vs. Canada (W, 108-102): 10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks
   • Semifinal vs. New Zealand (W, 120-64): six points, four rebounds and two blocks
   • Championship vs. Germany (W, 109-76): 15 points and 10 rebounds
   • 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup (Argentina); gold medal
       • Averaged 8.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 13.6 minutes per game
       • Quarterfinal vs. Puerto Rico (W, 98-66): 11 points, 17 rebounds, two blocks
       • Semifinal: vs. Canada (W, 107-69): 10 points, two rebounds, one block
       • Championship vs. Argentina (W, 110-70): seven points, seven rebounds, three steals
• 2024 USA Men's Nike Hoop Summit
   • Helped United States defeat World Select (98-75): eight points, four rebounds and a block

Notables
• Played his senior season at Thornton Township High School under coach Tai Streets, a former University of Michigan football (1995-98) and basketball (1997) player, and also competed for MeanStreets on the AAU circuit.