Wait for Morez Johnson to be worth it for Illini

CHAMPAIGN — It’s become a standard story for Brad Underwood.

In the celebratory chaos of storming the courtroom after Illinois defeated Iowa to win the 2021-2022 Big Ten regular season championship, the Illini men’s basketball coach looked around State Farm Center. Over one shoulder sat athletic director Josh Whitman. On the other side was Morez Johnson Jr.

“That was three years ago,” Underwood said after joking that Johnson had to be a senior at this point, considering how long he’d been around. “He has been in our dressing room a lot. It makes him act like a veteran. That’s pretty cool. He has seen many practices.

“His desire to wear orange and blue is evident every day. There’s no question he takes a lot of pride in being an Illini basketball player, and we’re getting a young man who plays extremely hard. He has that Chicago grit and that Chicago toughness and fighting spirit. I’m glad he’s on our side.”

Underwood and Co. just had to be patient before Johnson’s regular trips from Chicago to Champaign would be permanent. The former St. Rita and Thornton standout committed to Illinois in November 2021, signed two years later and now looks to play a crucial role for a new-looking Illini team when the season opens Monday night against Eastern Illinois.

Johnson was able to hit the ground running this summer because of his familiarity with Underwood and the Illinois coaching staff. He had seen enough of what happened at the Ubben basketball complex to understand what the Illini coaches wanted.

The only difference was the players on the field. Those he had come to know since committing are largely gone, with Ty Rodgers and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn the only returning scholarship players from last year’s Elite Eight team.

Johnson quickly formed bonds with his new teammates and, once the rebuilt roster was assembled, discovered how he could contribute as a freshman. While he did it all last season at Thornton – putting up 20 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals per game to earn NG All-State Player of the Year honors – that wouldn’t be his role in the Illini. At least not this year.

Johnson therefore focused mainly on defense and rebounding. Especially the latter. He was an everyday rebounding leader during summer workouts, and that will continue this fall as Illinois continues to prepare for the 2024-2025 season.

Johnson’s rebounding prowess was on display Sunday in Oxford, Miss. The 6-foot-1, 255-pound freshman played just 13 minutes in Illinois’ 91-74 loss to No. 24 Mississippi, but he scored seven points on 3-of-7 shooting. 4 shooting and tied Tomislav Ivisic, Tre White and Kasparas Jakucionis for the team lead with six rebounds in significantly fewer minutes.

“I can have an impact on the rebounding, on the glass,” Johnson said. “I think I have a knack for rebounding and I do my best to get on the glass and rebound the best I can. To be a good rebounder, you have to want to rebound. I think that plays a role in that too. I may not be – I’m not – the best scorer on this team, so I have to do something to influence the victory for the team. Rebounding and defending will help.”

How hard Johnson plays was the word for the standout big man at every stop. It’s what he showed a St. Rita and Thornton. Same on the Nike EYBL circuit with Meanstreets. And when he helped Team USA win gold at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup this summer.

“That’s the competitive internal fire in him,” Illinois head coach Orlando Antigua said. “I’ve been blessed to coach some guys who have had similar engines, and I put him next to those guys. An Oscar Tshiebwe type of man who has a nose for the ball, chases it down and has a ruthlessness in his quest to get the ball in front of you.

Tshiebwe, of course, played two seasons at Kentucky after half a season at West Virginia. It’s with the Wildcats – under Antigua’s tutelage – where the one-time recruiting target from Illinois turned into a two-time First Team All-American and the National Player of the Year for the 2021-2022 season.

Antigua left Champaign the spring before Johnson committed, but he certainly knew the talented big man in Chicago. Especially since Johnson started his high school career at St. Rita, where Antigua’s own high school coach at St. Raymond’s (NY) – Gary DeCesare – spent a decade on the sidelines.

“I just knew he was a powerful, strong athlete,” Antigua said of Johnson. “If you get a chance to peel back the onion and get to know him, he can defend one through five, he has an incredible motor and he has a great competitive spirit. I think he will be able to show and grow his game enormously over the months.”