Although he now reps the maize and blue, Michigan sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr.’s loyalties used to lie with the orange and blue. Johnson spent his freshman season at Illinois after being committed to the program since he was a sophomore in high school.

Despite being a key piece of last year’s team (7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game), Johnson entered the transfer portal at the end of the season, shocking Illini fans. A kid who was a Champaign mainstay for so many years decided to shift his home base to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Leaving Illinois so quickly, especially to go to another Big Ten program, left a bad taste in the mouths of many who hoped he would be a multi-year building block.

“No bad blood originally when he entered the portal,” said Kale Rauman, junior in AHS. “It’s the way the college game is today. But then he went to Michigan, and there’s a little bit of bad blood now with that.”

With Michigan, Johnson has seen an increased role, at least in terms of minutes. He is averaging almost seven more minutes per game while putting up 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds. His game hasn’t really expanded – he’s still a low-post threat, but he’s just gotten better at everything he showed last season.

When Johnson comes back on Friday, the Orange Krush will be rowdy. A top-10 win on the line against a former player will likely cause the arena to be the most raucous it has been all season.

“To be completely honest with you, I think it’ll be worse than when (former Illini) Skyy Clark came back,” Rauman said. “I do believe that a lot of students aren’t too happy with Morez, and they’ll be excited for when he’s back here.”

Bella Leone, sophomore in Engineering, is one of those students unhappy with Johnson leaving Champaign. When he returns on Friday night, she will be in the student section, ready to be loud and display her displeasure, as well as the feelings of her family.

“I think he betrayed us all,” Leone said. “My mom, Morez was her favorite player last year, and she loved watching him every day, but now that he left, she moved on to (freshman guard Keaton Wagler), and I think he’s much better anyway … I hope everyone boos Morez, of course, when he comes out.”

Junior wing Jake Davis, who played with Johnson last season, is looking forward to the environment. It will be an emotionally charged game, and he’s all for it.

“I think he’s going to hear it,” Davis said. “I think the fans are going to let him know. As they should, you know, he left. Nothing against that – love Morez – but I think it will be good for him to return to what could’ve been, what he could’ve had.”

Even students who still have love for Johnson will join in on the noise. Yes, they wished he would have returned this season because he is such a good player. At the end of the day though, supporting whoever dons the orange uniform right now comes first, and Johnson is no longer an Illini. On Friday, he will be public enemy number one inside State Farm Center.

“I was like the biggest Morez Johnson Jr. fan you’ve ever seen in your whole life,” said Annabel Mitchell, junior in Business. “I was kind of going back and forth for a long time about whether or not I was going to be part of the hate when he came back, because he’s going to get a lot of s— for coming back here at that game. And I miss him a lot, but you can’t go to another Big Ten team. That’s horrible.”

Head coach Brad Underwood had to bolster his front line after Johnson departed, and he turned to Europe, signing freshman forward David Mirković. Mirković has started for the Illini all year and had a very strong season, averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 38.1% from three at 6-foot-9. Mirković has quickly become a fan favorite, playing with an energy that, sometimes, becomes a little bit crazy. However, his passion is undeniable, and it’s something Illini fans have really come to love.

“I think I would rather have Mirk (than Johnson),” Rauman said. “We’ve got a guy that seems to bleed Illinois orange and blue through and through. I mean, he had a quote earlier this year where he said if he didn’t play and the team lost, he would feel like that was on him and he might kill himself. It’s a little extreme … but that’s a guy that truly understands the value that he has and really loves being at Illinois. So that’s the type of guy that I want on my team.”

Loyalty. That’s what resonates with fans, especially students. They want to see players eat, sleep and breathe Illinois, but the NIL era has made that tough.

Johnson is just one example of how loyalty in college sports has evaporated. Only a few players are left who feel an overt sense of commitment to stick around and build up a program long term. Money runs the world, and money now runs college basketball.

“I think NIL is dumb, because it’s just wherever you get the most money, you end up going,” Leone said. “But with everyone, you think they’re going to be here a while, you build a team atmosphere. It’s so hard to build that once again once they leave.”

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