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Morez Johnson Jr. leaving Illinois for Big Ten rival, per report

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Illinois had a great outlook in its frontcourt heading into next season with dynamic 7-footer Tomislav Ivisic and the strong play of freshman big man Morez Johnson Jr. However, that outlook has since shifted with Johnson leaving Champaign in what can only be described as a surprising transfer move.

Coming out of high school, Johnson was a 4-star recruit and the top in-state player out of Chicago for the 2024 recruiting class. The No. 30 player in the country per the 247 Sports Composite, Johnson committed to Brad Underwood and Illinois in 2021 and never wavered.

As a freshman, all signs pointed to a strong relationship and bright future with the Illini, save for some missed time due to a broken wrist. Johnson appeared in 30 games and made 8 starts, contributing significantly with 7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in over 20 minutes per game.

In spite of those numbers and that usage, Johnson hit the transfer portal after the end of the season, and reports from multiple outlets on Monday evening have indicated Johnson is headed to play for Dusty May at Michigan. The Wolverines certainly have a need with Vladislav Goldin heading to the NBA and Danny Wolf likely headed to the draft as well, but Johnson’s departure is a major blow for the Illini.

So, how did Illinois get here? Derek Piper, a lead basketball reporter for Illini Inquirer, dissected what led up to Johnson’s portal entry, even reporting he had a call with the Johnson family who claimed initial reports of a transfer were “completely false.”

Piper described the eventual portal move as surprising a lot of people and said ICON, the NIL arm for Illinois athletics, had the structure of a deal in place to keep Johnson in Champaign.

Regardless of the factors and the role NIL played in the final decision, Illinois now has a major hole to plug this offseason with Michigan grabbing a significant addition for May’s 2nd year in Ann Arbor.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.