The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542067
32 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2026 BY JOHN BORTON M orez Johnson Jr. fig- ured out very quickly that Michigan stood ready to be excellent this season. He did so in the time it takes him to spin past a defender and send a two-handed slam past a defenseless and violently stressed rim. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound sophomore forward transferred in after a year at Illinois. He didn't get in on Michigan's initial workouts this past summer, be- cause he found himself busy winning a gold medal with USA Basketball in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne, Switzerland. Then he came home and witnessed a crew preparing to make Swiss cheese out of opposing defenses. "Oh, yeah," Johnson recalled. "When I got back from Switzerland, and it was my first practice with the team, I saw everybody in the gym together. It was insane. I was just excited. "My dad [Morez Johnson Sr.] was here for the practice. After the practice, I talked to my dad and said, 'Man, we're going to be very good.'" That observation might get the younger Johnson labeled as a master of understatement before all is said and done. Michigan rocketed into the na- tion's top two with an 10-0 start to the season, including a jaw-dropping per- formance in the Players Era Champion- ship in Las Vegas. Over three consecu- Johnson led the charge in Michigan's 101‑60 rout of Rutgers Dec. 6, scoring a game‑high 22 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, and making 3 steals and notching 1 block. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL