Scouting Report: What Michigan fans can expect from Illinois transfer Morez Johnson

The Michigan Wolverines picked up their second transfer for the 2025-26 season in former Illinois big man Morez Johnson. Here’s what fans can expect from him:

It’s been a busy week in the transfer portal for Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines . The program has lost Tre Donaldson , Sam Walters and Jace Howard to the portal in the past few days, but also picked up North Carolina point guard Elliot Cadeau and Illinois forward Morez Johnson .

With Vlad Goldin graduating and Danny Wolf possibly entering the NBA Draft, May’s squad could use all the size it can get for the 2025-26 season, and Johnson certainly provides that. With three years of eligibility remaining, the 6-foot-9 forward could be a building block for the program.

Today, we will break down his game and project where he could fit in Michigan’s rotation next season and beyond.

Scouting Report

The No. 1 recruit in the state of Illinois for the 2024 class, Johnson was a four-star prospect at No. 30 overall and No. 7 among centers on the 247Sports composite . He is also ranked as the No. 30 overall player on 247’s portal rankings.

Johnson started eight out of his 30 games at Illinois this past season, averaging 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in nearly 18 minutes per game. He shot 64.2 percent from the field and 61.8 percent from the free throw line. He did not attempt a three-pointer.

He scored double-digit points seven times, including a career-high 20 points in a win over Penn State and 17 points in a loss to Michigan State . Johnson didn’t play in Illinois’ win over Michigan because he was recovering from a broken wrist.

Johnson is the kind of dirty-work big man every college basketball team could use. He’s a tenacious rebounder that defends the rim well, and is also a ferocious dunker. He crashed the offensive boards hard, as his 17.2 percent offensive rebounding rate on KenPom — which is the percentage of possible offensive rebounds a player gets — helped Illinois rank in the top-20 in the country in offensive rebounding.

Midway through the season, Johnon was ranked as one of the best rebounders in the country, in a percentile higher than Danny Wolf, Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler and Auburn’s National Player of the Year candidate, Johni Broome. Those stats went down a bit with his wrist injury, but at full health, Johnson can be one of the best rebounders in the country.

I swear this isn’t a dig in this context, but Johnson plays basketball like a tight end playing pick-up at your local LA Fitness. He’s physical and incredibly hard to box out, his effort is evident and he thrives around the rim.

Michigan fans are going to love the energy he brings on both ends. Johnson is similar to Tre Donaldson in that way, and that energy is infectious.

Johnson has plenty of room to grow, considering he was a freshman last season, but he is more of a traditional big who only leaves the paint to set screens. That said, he knows what he is and thrives in that role.

He’s efficient around the rim, a menace on the glass, and his energy is incredibly impactful defensively. Johnson should remind Michigan fans of Tarris Reed Jr. in terms of his motor and rebounding ability.

Where Johnson fits in Michigan’s rotation

With about three weeks to go until the portal closes, it’s hard to project Michigan’s starting center. But at this very moment, Johnson slides into the starting lineup at the 5.

I could see him playing well next to Will Tschetter, with Tschetter being able to stretch the floor and find Johnson for easy buckets. If Michigan lands another big man in the portal — particularly one that is more skilled offensively — I could see Johnson being one of the Michigan’s first players off the bench. I could also see Tschetter starting over him against certain smaller teams.

And an underrated part about this addition is Johnson could be Michigan’s big man of the future with three years of eligibility left. With the additions of Cadeau and Johnson, I do like that the Wolverines are building for now and for the future. It’s the foresight you need to have in the unpredictable world that is the transfer portal.

Where do you see Johnson fitting on this roster? Let us know in the comments.