The No. 10 Illinois Fighting Illini have a big game this Friday against the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines, which is already a huge story of its own. But there's more to it that makes this showdown even more compelling, with a former Illinois basketball star returning to State Farm Center in Champaign.
Michigan sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. will have plenty of eyes on him in this matchup, as this will mark his first appearance in the home of his former team since he decided to leave Champaign and take his talents to Ann Arbor to play for Dusty May's Wolverines.
Johnson's former teammate and Illinois basketball junior forward Jake Davis had something to say about Johnson's return.
“I think he's gonna hear it,” Davis warns Johnson of the expected fan reception, via Glenn Kinley of WCIA. “Fans are gonna let him know, as they should. He left. Nothing against it, love Morez but I think it'll be good for him to return to what could've been, what he could've had.”
During his freshman season with the Fighting Illini in the 2024-25 campaign, Johnson played 30 games (with eight starts) and averaged 7.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting 64.2 percent from the field.
He helped the Fighting Illini reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2025, and in what turned out to be his final game in an Illinois basketball uniform, he scored five points, grabbed seven boards and recorded a steal in 17 minutes off the bench in a second-round March Madness loss to the Kentucky Wildcats.
