Michigan basketball fans should be over-the-moon excited about the 2025-26 season. The Wolverines are expected to be a national title contender, and one reason is an elite transer portal haul that includes former Illinois big man Morez Johnson.
Johnson is a 6-foot-9 forward/center. He averaged 7.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and1.1 blocks per game for Illinois last season in just 17.6 minutes per game. He also shot 64 percent from the field and averaged 2.7 offensive rebounds.
That's incredible production for 17 minutes. Johnson was just projected as a border-line first-round pick by ESPN for the 2026 NBA draft, and at the FIBA U-19 World Cup, he's showing why for Team USA.
On Wednesday, against Jordan, Team USA dominated. Johnson scored a career-high 19 points. He also grabbed five rebounds (two offensive), notched two steals, and a block. Johnson has started the past three games, is averaging 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds in 16 minutes, and posted a double-double against Australia, via UM Hoops.
Oscar Goodman, a redshirt freshman for Michigan basketball, has also been playing for New Zealand in the World Cup. The 6-foot-9 forward is averaging seven points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and one steal per game, while shooting 38 percent from the field.
Goodman has shot 57 percent on 2-point attempts, but is shooting just 16 percent from beyond the arc. If Team USA beats Canada in the quarterfinals on Friday, and New Zealand wins, the two Michigan basketball players would square off, for their respective national teams, in the semifinals.
Former Michigan basketball players find new NBA homes
Two former Wolverines will be headed back to the state of Michigan to continue their NBA careers, as Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert each signed deals with the Detroit Pistons this week.
Robinson was technically acquired via a sign-and-trade with Miami, but signed a three-year, $48 million deal with the Pistons. The U-M alum averaged 11 points per game with 37 starts for Miami. He shot 39.3 percent from 3-point range.
Robinson is a career 39.7 percent shooter from beyond the arc, with 1,202 career 3-pointers. That will be huge for Detroit, a playoff team a year ago that desperately needed a sharpshooter.
LeVert, a former first-round pick of the Nets, signed a two-year $29 million deal with Detroit. The nine-year veteran has averaged 13.9 points for his career. He scored 14.9 in 26 games for the Hawks last season but averaged 12.1 overall.
In another move, Jordan Poole was traded from the Wizards to the Pelicans last month. The former NBA champion averaged 20.5 points per game last season to go along with 4.5 assists. The former Michigan basketball star shot 37 percent from 3-point range, and 43 percent overall.