Michigan basketball’s junkyard dog is moving on.
Morez Johnson Jr., the enforcer on the 2025-26 national championship team, will enter the 2026 NBA Draft but maintain his college eligibility, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t permitted to speak publicly.
Johnson is projected by many as first round selection − ESPN and CBS both have him at No. 27, exactly where former Michigan big man Danny Wolf went last season − after he averaged 13.1 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds for U-M and greatly expanded his game from his freshman season at Illinois.
Johnson joined the Wolverines as a rim-runner and energy player, but added elements of touch and skill he didn’t have in 2024-25. He made 12 3-pointers on 34.3% shooting after never having attempted a 3 in college. He also improved from a 61.8% free throw shooter to 78.2%, an important development for someone who plays physically and draws fouls.
Early in the season, May said Johnson set the tone for the team in practice. He not only was said to be the most consistent player in terms of energy, but would stay after practice to work with May to expand his game.
“He’s earned the right to do what he does based on his work,” May said. “He’s incredibly consistent and thorough with everything that he does. This summer when he shot 3s, they didn’t go in very often, and he continued to work on his balance, the rhythm of the shot and his mechanics.”
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward played and started all 40 games for U-M last season, putting up 29 games with 10 or more points and was named second-team All-Big Ten.
He shot 62.1% (190-for-286) from the floor and finished top-35 nationally in effective field goal percentage this season, per KenPom. His top performance was a career-high 29 points against Southern California on Jan. 2.
Johnson’s greatest strength is his, well, his strength. He bullied teams in the paint on offense consistently and overwhelmed opponents on defense as he averaged 1.1 blocks per game to go with a 5.7 defensive box-plus-minus score in 2025-26 en route to earning a spot on the All-Big Ten defensive team.
With Aday Mara and Johnson both moving on, the Wolverines will have an entirely new starting frontcourt for the third time in as many seasons under May. Michigan has landed a pair of talented big men in the transfer portal in recent weeks, adding J.P. Estrella (Tennessee), Jalen Reed (LSU) and most recently Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati).
The two-day NBA Draft is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, and Wednesday, June 24 in Brooklyn and Johnson has until May 27 to withdraw from the draft if he wants to maintain his eligibility.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. declares for NBA Draft, keeps eligibility