Johnson's Stats at FIBA U18 AmeriCup | USA U18 National Team Roster
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Fighting Illini incoming freshman Morez Johnson Jr. helped the USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team to its seventh consecutive gold medal at the 2024 FIBA AmeriCup over the weekend. Team USA capped a dominant 6-0 record on Sunday with a 110-70 victory over host Argentina in the final.
Johnson, a 6-foot, 9 inch forward from Riverdale, Illinois, finished as the top rebounder in the tournament, averaging 9.0 per contest including 2.7 per game on the offensive glass. He also averaged 8.0 points on 62.1% shooting and swatted 1.2 blocks, all in 13.6 minutes per contest.
Johnson's 54 total rebounds rank as the third-most on the all-time list for the USA U18 team in a single tournament. In USA's 150-54 victory over Belize in the group phase, Johnson recorded only the second 15-point, 15-rebound game for the USA U18 team since 2006. Two games later, in the squad's 99-66 victory over Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals, Johnson recorded 17 boards to tie the USA U18 record and added 10 points for his second double-double of the tournament. He poured in 10 points vs. Canada in the semifinals to help Team USA advance to the championship game and closed out his week with seven points and seven rebounds vs. Argentina in the gold medal contest.
Johnson will now head to Champaign to begin summer workouts with his Fighting Illini teammates.
USA SCHEDULE & RESULTS
» June 3 – USA 88, Argentina 66 | Box Score | Rewatch
» June 4 – USA 150, Belize 54 | Box Score | Rewatch
» June 5 – USA 100, Brazil 57 | Box Score | Rewatch
» June 7 – Quarterfinal: USA 99, Puerto Rico 66 | Box Score | Rewatch
» June 8 – Semifinal: USA 107, Canada 69 | Box Score | Rewatch
» June 9 – Final: USA 110, Argentina 70 | Box Score | Rewatch
Johnson was voted the 2024 Illinois Mr. Basketball and Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior season at Thornton Township High School. As a senior, he averaged 20 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals while leading the Wildcats to a 25-9 record. Johnson signed with the Illinois program last November. He is the top-ranked player in the state and a consensus national top-30 recruit with four-star ratings from Rivals (26), On3 (28), ESPN (28) and 247Sports (29).
Johnson becomes the third Illini signee of the Brad Underwood era to earn gold with USA Basketball at the event, formerly known as the FIBA U18 Americas Championship. Ayo Dosunmu and Ty Rodgers both captured gold medals prior to their freshman campaigns at Illinois in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
