Illinois Basketball: Morez Johnson Jr. transferring to familiar program

A future Illinois basketball star is about to take his talents to a different high school.

As of right now, the Illini have one commit for the class of 2024 and that is Morez Johnson Jr. His talents alone have Illinois sitting with the No. 20 class in the country despite only one pledge as we speak.

Johnson is a four-star recruit who is ranked as the No. 48 player in the class of 2024. He is also the No. 6 center in the country and the No. 2 player coming out of the state of Illinois.

Illinois basketball commit Morez Johnson Jr. is about to take his talents down south

Over the past three seasons, Johnson has suited up for the St. Rita Mustangs up in Chicago. During his freshman season, it was the heart of COVID-19. Johnson’s team didn’t play well, finishing 4-8 overall and 3-6 in the conference. He was still able to put up decent numbers, averaging 7.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

From that point on, Johnson’s career took off. He came back during his sophomore campaign, and St. Rita finished 23-12 overall and 11-3 in the conference. Johnson and his St. Rita team would advance all the way to the Sectional Final in Class 4A but fell just short to Kenwood, 75-68. Johnson would once again lead his team with 14.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

This past season, St. Rita had another good run with Johnson gaining national notoriety and spotlight for his tremendous play. The Mustangs would finish 23-11 overall but would get eliminated in the Sectional Semi-Final against Brother Rice, 72-65.

Despite the early bow out in year three, Johnson would continue to wow fans and spectators. He would average 17.2 points and 12.1 rebounds per game as a junior.

On Wednesday night, after spending three seasons with St. Rita, Johnson announced that he would be transferring away from the Mustangs. He has picked the Thornton Wildcats as his landing spot for his final season of high school basketball.

Thornton should sound like a familiar name to most Illinois fans. This is the same program that landed Ty Rodgers for his final year of high school after spending the first three years in Michigan. So, having an Illinois player come to their program is something familiar to the Wildcats.

With Rodgers on the roster, Thornton would finish 23-6 overall in 2021-22. They took a dip this past season, going 14-12 overall. Now that they have Johnson coming aboard, look for Thornton to get a shot in the arm. This kid has a special talent, and he is going to show that with his new program in the coming months.