Out Cast! How Did Morez Johnson Jr. Look in First Action After Broken Wrist?

After all was said and done, Illinois freshman forward Morez Johnson Jr. sat out only five games and less than four weeks because of a broken wrist – a drop in the bucket given that a terrified lIlini Nation and rebounding fans everywhere initially feared he might be done for the season.

But, boy, did Illinois ever miss him while he was gone.

Before the injury to the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Johnson, who was averaging 6.6 rebounds in just 17.7 minutes, the Illini had been a broad-shouldered force on the boards. They led Division I in rebounding margin for much of the season, compiling a plus-11.5 mark through 25 games. Post-injury? Including the Michigan State game in which Johnson was hurt and hampered, Illinois was outrebounded in four of six games, plummeting to a minus-3 rebounding margin during that span.

One of those games came against Iowa only two weeks ago, a fact that was easy to overlook in an 81-61 Illinois win. Would the Illini struggle on the glass against the Hawkeyes again, especially with Johnson in just his first game back and expected to need time to ramp up his play and minutes?

We should know better than to doubt Johnson by now. After a few warm-up minutes, Johnson powered up from the paint against a helpless Hawkeyes defender, corralled an offensive rebound and flipped it through the rim for a putback bucket. He went on to grab five more offensive rebounds and eight total – in just 11 minutes of floor time.

Welcome back, @morezjohnsonJr!

Morez pulls down an offensive rebound and puts it back up for a tough 2.

1H 8:54 | Illinois 28, Iowa 24
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 13, 2025

If there is such a thing as a spectacular lunchpail performance, it belonged to Johnson on Thursday. Yet even Illini coach Brad Underwood wasn't sure what to expect of Johnson against the Hawkeyes.

"I was really concerned about him maybe overthinking things," Underwood said. "We talked today and yesterday: run, rebound and defend. Run, rebound and defend. Let's not get too complicated. He only had two days in practice with some of the defensive changes we've made."

Against Iowa, Johnson did all of the above. The hope is that it's just a preview of an even bigger (and more critical) performance against Maryland big men Derik Queen and Julian Reese, who destroyed the Illini interior defense in a January matchup in which center Tomislav Ivisic wasn't available.

"I thought he was fantastic," Underwood said of Johnson against the Hawkeyes. "He impacted the game. I kind of did what I wanted to do, which was just get his feet wet. Tomorrow may be a different story."

Johnson and the seventh-seeded Illini will face the second-seeded Terrapins on Friday at approximately 5:30 p.m. CT (on CBS).

Out Cast! How Did Morez Johnson Jr. Look in First Action After Broken Wrist?

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