Illinois Basketball: Morez Johnson Jr. rising in updated 247Sports rankings

The new recruiting rankings are out, and Illinois basketball commit Morez Johnson Jr. is on the rise.

It was exciting when the Illini were able to land Johnson back in 2021. This was a great start to a future class, and he has impressed me ever since.

Johnson has been tearing up the high school and AAU scene. He averaged 17.2 points and 12.1 rebounds per game for St. Rita up in Chicago during the high school season. Johnson would then parlay that great play into an AAU season with the Meanstreets where he would average 13.1 points and a league-high 9.8 rebounds per game.

Throughout the past year, Johnson has continued to elevate his game no matter the team or setting. This is getting him noticed by the recruiting sites as well. On Thursday, Johnson received a boost from 247Sports when it comes to recruiting rankings.

Illinois basketball commit Morez Johnson Jr. continues to crawl up the recruiting rankings

When the first class of 2024 rankings were released, Johnson was the No. 40 player in the country. For some reason, 247Sports would drop him down to No. 58 just five months later.

On March 2 of this year, Johnson would hit his floor as the No. 61 player in the class of 2024. Despite being a double-double machine for St. Rita, Johnson was still dropping.

That drop has now turned a corner, though. There have been six recruiting ranking updates over the past three months, and each time Johnson is seeing an improvement. He went from No. 61 on March 2 to No. 58 by May 2 to No. 56 by June 2.

Just a few days ago, 247Sports would go through another rankings adjustment. On June 5, Johnson was ranked the No. 55 player in the class of 2024. With the update on Thursday, he is now back in the top 50 at No. 46.

Opinion

A nine-spot jump is huge for Johnson, and I am happy for him. But I have said it before and I will say it again. I think Johnson is one of the most underrated and underappreciated players in high school basketball.

I honestly believe, as a junior, Johnson could have helped Illinois win games in the Big Ten. This kid is built like a Big Ten-caliber paint player. Just think about this for a second. The Nike EYBL has some of the best high school basketball players in the country competing against each other. Johnson led the entire league in rebounding.

Over the past year, I have tried to think of a great comparison for Johnson. I think I have finally landed on one. Johnson reminds me a lot of former Kentucky and current Miami Heat big man, Bam Adebayo.

They both have great builds for the game of basketball. They run the court well and can rebound with the best of the best. Both Bam and Johnson can finish at the rim well too.

At Kentucky, Bam averaged 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds as a freshman. He made the SEC All-Freshman team, All-SEC team, and All-SEC Tournament team.  Bam would also go on to help Kentucky to the Elite. 8. That is what I see Johnson being able to do but maybe even more.

Johnson will be featured a lot more at Illinois. Bam had to share the ball with six other NBA players including De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. While Johnson will have to share the rock sometimes, he will be the centerpiece for everything the Illini do on both ends of the court. I can’t wait until he is in the building. Johnson is a superstar.