Illinois basketball forward and Chicago native Morez Johnson Jr. enters transfer portal | Report

One of the most promising pieces of the core Illinois basketball put together this season has reportedly gone portaling.

Thornton Township alum and Illini basketball forward Morez Johnson Jr. entered the transfer portal, according to ESPN.

Illinois hoped that Johnson would return to the team after a successful freshman season. He averaged seven points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his first year of college basketball. Johnson had been committed to Illinois basketball since his sophomore at Thornton Township, picking the Illini over Iowa and Florida.

Johnson averaged 17.7 minutes per game coming off the bench. He also had three double-doubles this season. He injured his wrist against Michigan State in February and missed the rest of the regular season but returned for the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

Johnson becomes the second Illini player to enter the transfer portal after sophomore forward Carey Booth, who entered the portal on Thursday.

Morez Johnson Jr. in the transfer portal

According to ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Johnson will be one of the most sought-after forwards in the portal.

The transfer portal opened on Monday this week, the day after Illinois lost to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois head coach Brad Underdwood didn't hide his feelings about the portal.

"It's speed dating at it's finest," Underwood said. "We'll go find the right pieces."

Now, Underwood might have to replace a promising forward who the staff was expecting to return for his sophomore season.

"We'll kind of deal with things here one step at a time," Underwood said. "The portal's kind of the next step."

What it means for Illinois basketball

When Illinois basketball put its roster together, Johnson was a key figure in both this season and beyond.

As a freshman, Johnson showed enough to convince Underwood he would have been up for regular season honors had he stayed healthy.

"In most years Morez as a freshmen in the Big Ten, the year he had, would have had him up for all Big Ten honors," Underwood said. "This year's freshman class was spectacular in the league, and yet he's had his moments. He's been a consistent rebounder. He's been an elite defender. He's a guy that is not delusional."

Johnson's departure would leave a massive hole in Illinois' rebounding efforts. He was tenacious in the post on both ends of the court, and figured to have an increased role as a sophomore.

Illinois was expecting him to return, too.

"He's a guy that loves to listen and play, and he's gotten so much better," Underwood said. "His impact on our team was very, very evident when we didn't have him. And as we've been able to play better here of late, a lot of that is our veterans. We're growing up and now we get Morez back and it gives us a real chance to reach our ceiling."

Now, Underwood needs to find a way to fortify his post presence without a budding rebounder and an aggressive offensive player that figured to be a part of next season's team.

Illinois' head coach has been busy in the transfer portal already. Multiple times, he mentioned already making calls and contacting players in the portal while he was preparing for his NCAA Tournament games in Milwaukee.

"I've been here actually making calls," Underwood said in Milwaukee. "I don't know if there's a good time, a bad time, whatever time. Nobody really cares. So I'm not going to complain about it. But, it's literally just the next step. It's speed dating. It's gathering information, figuring out what you're trying to do and we've got a pretty good idea of that."