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Let's continue with my countdown of my 30 favorite Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball players of my fandom, spanning from the 1996-97 season until present day. Here are numbers 30-12.
- #30 Morez Johnson Jr.
- #29 Marcus Arnold.
- #28 Matthew Mayer.
- #27 Kevin Turner.
- #26 Mike Davis.
- #25 Trent Frazier.
- #24 D.J. Richardson.
- #23 Tyler Griffey.
- #22 Will Riley.
- #21 Dain Dainja.
- #20 Jack Ingram.
- #19 Marcus Domask.
- #18 Tomislav Ivisic.
- #17 Robert Archibald.
- #16 Brandon Paul.
- #15 Frankie Williams.
- #14 Marcus Griffin.
- #13 Sergio McClain.
- #12 Alfonso Plummer.
Back in 1998, I was a sophomore in high school, languishing on the bench of my school's junior varsity basketball team coached by Gene Heidkamp, the now accomplished head coach at Benet Academy. Despite not playing much, I was a basketball fanatic, playing any time I got the opportunity to and reading about and watching as much NBA, college and high school basketball as possible. As a student at an all-boys school, I think basketball was my means for coping not being around girls that often.
Anyway, Illinois high school basketball was quite incredible during this time period. Eventual state champion Whitney Young had Quentin Richardson, Dennis Gates and Cordell Henry while defending four-time champion Peoria Manual still had future Illini Frankie Williams. In the Chicago-land area, one player especially stood out to me, Fenwick's man-child Corey Maggette, a senior who would go to Duke for one season before getting drafted by the Seattle Supersonics and traded to the Orlando Magic for Horace Grant.
At that time in my life, Maggette was the best non-professional basketball player I had ever seen in person. Since eighth grade, I would attend my eventual high school's annual Thanksgiving tournament to see Maggette up close and personal. When I was a freshman, Maggette's Friars knocked out my school in the state playoffs, only to lose to a loaded Thornton team that would eventually be ousted by Williams, Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin and the rest of Wayne McClain's Peoria Manual juggernaut.
During my sophomore year of high school, Fenwick played my school in the title game of our Thanksgiving Tournament, with Maggette having one of the greatest missed dunks I had ever seen. During a tight game early in the third quarter, Maggette took off from the wing for a windmill dunk when some helpless soul on my school's team tried to step in and take a charge. Ultimately, Maggette got a bit undercut, clanking the dunk so hard off the back iron that it shot down all the way to the opposing free throw line. Nearly everyone in the gym gasped in awe at the missed dunk, a projectile missile landing about 70 feet away. Fenwick would go on to win that game and eventually advance downstate, where it would play a Maine West team featuring my 11th favorite Illinois men's basketball player of my 30-year fandom, Lucas Johnson.
Maine West had a good team, including an Xavier commit named Kevin Frey who I believe was considered a better recruit than Johnson, headed to Illinois to follow in the footsteps of his brother Brian. Despite having two Division-I players, Maine West was an underdog in my book against Maggette and Fenwick, which had a great point guard named Chris Williams who went to Loyola Chicago and a 6'8'' big man named Jabari Harris who played for UIC.
Somehow, someway, Maine West pulled off the upset, with my high school buddy Rich calling me later that weekend to fill me in on the game. Since he was a kid, Rich and his father would drive downstate to watch the IHSA state finals. That Sunday night Rich called me, I had an immediate question for him.
"How the hell did Fenwick lose to Maine West?" I asked Rich.
"Oh man, Lucas Johnson got under the skin of Maggette all night," Rich responded. "He was flopping all over the place. He was kind of dirty."
"Really?" I responded, surprised to hear this about Johnson, whom I had never seen play in high school but had read about in the newspapers. In fact the only time I had seen Johnson on television was as a spectator during an Illinois game that season against Clemson at the United Center.
Sitting behind the Illini bench, Johnson was shown several times laughing at his brother Brian, who had made a mistake on the court. Lucas definitely gave off those annoying little brother vibes so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to hear my buddy Rich's description of him.
Anyway, Illinois high school basketball was quite incredible during this time period. Eventual state champion Whitney Young had Quentin Richardson, Dennis Gates and Cordell Henry while defending four-time champion Peoria Manual still had future Illini Frankie Williams. In the Chicago-land area, one player especially stood out to me, Fenwick's man-child Corey Maggette, a senior who would go to Duke for one season before getting drafted by the Seattle Supersonics and traded to the Orlando Magic for Horace Grant.
At that time in my life, Maggette was the best non-professional basketball player I had ever seen in person. Since eighth grade, I would attend my eventual high school's annual Thanksgiving tournament to see Maggette up close and personal. When I was a freshman, Maggette's Friars knocked out my school in the state playoffs, only to lose to a loaded Thornton team that would eventually be ousted by Williams, Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin and the rest of Wayne McClain's Peoria Manual juggernaut.
During my sophomore year of high school, Fenwick played my school in the title game of our Thanksgiving Tournament, with Maggette having one of the greatest missed dunks I had ever seen. During a tight game early in the third quarter, Maggette took off from the wing for a windmill dunk when some helpless soul on my school's team tried to step in and take a charge. Ultimately, Maggette got a bit undercut, clanking the dunk so hard off the back iron that it shot down all the way to the opposing free throw line. Nearly everyone in the gym gasped in awe at the missed dunk, a projectile missile landing about 70 feet away. Fenwick would go on to win that game and eventually advance downstate, where it would play a Maine West team featuring my 11th favorite Illinois men's basketball player of my 30-year fandom, Lucas Johnson.
Maine West had a good team, including an Xavier commit named Kevin Frey who I believe was considered a better recruit than Johnson, headed to Illinois to follow in the footsteps of his brother Brian. Despite having two Division-I players, Maine West was an underdog in my book against Maggette and Fenwick, which had a great point guard named Chris Williams who went to Loyola Chicago and a 6'8'' big man named Jabari Harris who played for UIC.
Somehow, someway, Maine West pulled off the upset, with my high school buddy Rich calling me later that weekend to fill me in on the game. Since he was a kid, Rich and his father would drive downstate to watch the IHSA state finals. That Sunday night Rich called me, I had an immediate question for him.
"How the hell did Fenwick lose to Maine West?" I asked Rich.
"Oh man, Lucas Johnson got under the skin of Maggette all night," Rich responded. "He was flopping all over the place. He was kind of dirty."
"Really?" I responded, surprised to hear this about Johnson, whom I had never seen play in high school but had read about in the newspapers. In fact the only time I had seen Johnson on television was as a spectator during an Illinois game that season against Clemson at the United Center.
Sitting behind the Illini bench, Johnson was shown several times laughing at his brother Brian, who had made a mistake on the court. Lucas definitely gave off those annoying little brother vibes so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to hear my buddy Rich's description of him.
At Illinois, Johnson could be described as a pest, in the best of ways, though. During either his first or second game as an Illini at Madison Square Garden, Johnson was already generating some controversy, getting interviewed after the game about apparently elbowing an opponent on Wake Forest or Georgetown (sorry, I can't remember). Johnson denied the elbow, which Lon Kruger addressed and said was unacceptable.
Ultimately, Lucas Johnson was that guy you loved to have on your team and hated to have as an opponent, unafraid to mix it up. Still, Johnson was not a goon but actually a quite skilled basketball player. While lacking foot speed, Johnson had good positional size, able to play the two through four, and a nice shooting stroke when getting his feet set.
As a freshman at Illinois, Johnson started putting it together late in the season during a magical Big Ten Tournament run where the Illini, the worst conference team in the regular season, advanced to the title game before losing to Michigan State. Johnson was huge during the Illini's semifinal upset of an Ohio State team that would make the Final Four, eventually getting named to the Big Ten Tournament's first team. The more I watched Johnson, the more I liked. Essentially, he was the Illini version of Purdue forward Brian Cardinal, a guy I hated on the Boilermakers but would have loved to have at Illinois, where his Dad Rod was the longtime athletic trainer.
Simply put, Johnson was a very heady player, someone who would do whatever it takes to win. As a sophomore, Johnson moved from starting shooting guard to starting power forward come the NCAA Tournament. I absolutely loved Johnson's versatility and role as a connecting piece/glue guy.
On a loaded Illinois team with stars like Williams, Cory Bradford, Brian Cook and Griffin, Johnson was a game wrecker, similar to his teammates Damir Krupalija and Robert Archibald. Johnson would dive for loose balls, take charges, hit timely shots, play physical defense, and get under the skin of opponents, just like he did to Maggette back in the state playoffs.
As a junior, Johnson proved to be a key piece off the bench as Illinois earned a number-one seed and advanced to the Elite Eight to play #2 Arizona, which was the preseason number-one team in many publications. Earlier that season, Illinois had lost to Arizona in Maui before beating the Wildcats at the United Center in December, with Johnson causing his normal havoc and drawing the ire of Lute Olson. I also got to witness Johnson's glorious madness earlier that month during an epic Illini comeback against Seton Hall at the Assembly Hall.
During the Elite Eight game, Illinois got behind quickly as Arizona's Gilbert Arenas went off in the first half. However, the Illini would rally in the second half, with Johnson making it seem that Illinois could actually pull off this comeback. As I watched in my dorm room with my aforementioned buddy Rich, Johnson hit two huge threes in the second half to give Illinois brief leads, getting the Illini crowd fired up and propelling Rich and I to run around my dorm room like maniacs. Unfortunately, Illinois would fall short that game, with six players fouling out and Arizona shooting 56 free throws to the Illini's 25. By the way, Johnson's two threes were his only two shots of the game!
While the 2000-01 Illinois team was so close to the Final Four, the following season offered much promise with everyone returning except McClain and Griffin. Sadly, things got off to a bad start when Johnson injured his knee during preseason workouts. I remember hearing the rumors on campus at the time, that Johnson had suffered a bad injury, and was devastated to learn this was true.
Ultimately, the 2001-02 Illinois team had an up-and-down season, with an early-season loss at eventual national champion Maryland especially embarrassing. Illinois looked outclassed from the jump ball of this game, getting their butts kicked as Johnson watched in street clothes. The next night I actually saw Johnson outside the McDonald's in the six-pack dorms.
"What the hell was that last night?" I wanted to ask Lucas, though I kept my mouth shut, best avoiding an elbow or worse from the Illini forward.
At one point during the 2001-02 season, I was starting to wonder if this Illinois team could miss the tournament after three straight brutal losses. Of course, that was never a possibility, though losing three games in a row was unthinkable for such a talented squad. Ultimately, the Illini would rally and finish the season strong, with Johnson accelerating his rehab and coming back.
Clearly not the same player, Johnson wanted to finish what he started with his Illinois teammates, providing limited minutes off the bench. Sadly, the 2001-02 Illinois team would lose in the Sweet Sixteen to Kansas, with Johnson scoring two points in ten minutes during his final game. Man, how I wanted that group of seniors (Johnson, Bradford, Williams, Krupalija and Archibald) to get to a Final Four!
In all honesty, Johnson should have probably taken a medical redshirt his last season, but it is understandable why he didn't. Still, part of me wonders what the 2002-03 Illini team would have looked like with Johnson starting at the three, senior Brian Cook and freshman James Augustine down low and freshmen Deron Williams and Dee Brown in the backcourt. That would have certainly been an even more entertaining team than it already was.
Years later, Johnson is still one of the most beloved Illini players for fans of that time period as evident just a few years ago. At the beginning of the 2021-22 season, I attended the Illinois game at Marquette. After Illinois blew the game late, morose Illini fans started filing out in the hallways. Suddenly, the energy changed when fans spotted a very tall man ahead.
"Lucas! Lucas!" the crowd shouted out.
Johnson turned around with a big smile and waved to the crowd before taking pictures with fans.
The last time I heard Johnson was a high school math teacher, which as a teacher myself, makes me incredibly happy to hear. As a player, Johnson was like that annoying kid in class who would get on your nerves but you couldn't get too mad at because of his good nature and talent, in other words, a lovable jerk in the nicest sense of the term.
One of the more memorable characters and fiercest players in Illinois basketball history, Lucas Johnson is a player that every team needs, a guy who left it all on the court and yet kept things loose. If you never saw Johnson play for the Illini, I would compare him a bit to David Mirkovic, in terms of not their games but definitely their larger-than-life personalities (and maybe their foot speed, just kidding).
Hopefully, the Johnson family legacy will continue at Illinois with his daughter, the highly-rated Liv of Carmel High School, playing for the Illini women's team in a few seasons. It would certainly be great to see Lucas back at the State Farm Center, this time as a proud father as opposed to his playing career as a perpetual spark plug and instigator.
Ultimately, Lucas Johnson was that guy you loved to have on your team and hated to have as an opponent, unafraid to mix it up. Still, Johnson was not a goon but actually a quite skilled basketball player. While lacking foot speed, Johnson had good positional size, able to play the two through four, and a nice shooting stroke when getting his feet set.
As a freshman at Illinois, Johnson started putting it together late in the season during a magical Big Ten Tournament run where the Illini, the worst conference team in the regular season, advanced to the title game before losing to Michigan State. Johnson was huge during the Illini's semifinal upset of an Ohio State team that would make the Final Four, eventually getting named to the Big Ten Tournament's first team. The more I watched Johnson, the more I liked. Essentially, he was the Illini version of Purdue forward Brian Cardinal, a guy I hated on the Boilermakers but would have loved to have at Illinois, where his Dad Rod was the longtime athletic trainer.
Simply put, Johnson was a very heady player, someone who would do whatever it takes to win. As a sophomore, Johnson moved from starting shooting guard to starting power forward come the NCAA Tournament. I absolutely loved Johnson's versatility and role as a connecting piece/glue guy.
On a loaded Illinois team with stars like Williams, Cory Bradford, Brian Cook and Griffin, Johnson was a game wrecker, similar to his teammates Damir Krupalija and Robert Archibald. Johnson would dive for loose balls, take charges, hit timely shots, play physical defense, and get under the skin of opponents, just like he did to Maggette back in the state playoffs.
As a junior, Johnson proved to be a key piece off the bench as Illinois earned a number-one seed and advanced to the Elite Eight to play #2 Arizona, which was the preseason number-one team in many publications. Earlier that season, Illinois had lost to Arizona in Maui before beating the Wildcats at the United Center in December, with Johnson causing his normal havoc and drawing the ire of Lute Olson. I also got to witness Johnson's glorious madness earlier that month during an epic Illini comeback against Seton Hall at the Assembly Hall.
During the Elite Eight game, Illinois got behind quickly as Arizona's Gilbert Arenas went off in the first half. However, the Illini would rally in the second half, with Johnson making it seem that Illinois could actually pull off this comeback. As I watched in my dorm room with my aforementioned buddy Rich, Johnson hit two huge threes in the second half to give Illinois brief leads, getting the Illini crowd fired up and propelling Rich and I to run around my dorm room like maniacs. Unfortunately, Illinois would fall short that game, with six players fouling out and Arizona shooting 56 free throws to the Illini's 25. By the way, Johnson's two threes were his only two shots of the game!
While the 2000-01 Illinois team was so close to the Final Four, the following season offered much promise with everyone returning except McClain and Griffin. Sadly, things got off to a bad start when Johnson injured his knee during preseason workouts. I remember hearing the rumors on campus at the time, that Johnson had suffered a bad injury, and was devastated to learn this was true.
Ultimately, the 2001-02 Illinois team had an up-and-down season, with an early-season loss at eventual national champion Maryland especially embarrassing. Illinois looked outclassed from the jump ball of this game, getting their butts kicked as Johnson watched in street clothes. The next night I actually saw Johnson outside the McDonald's in the six-pack dorms.
"What the hell was that last night?" I wanted to ask Lucas, though I kept my mouth shut, best avoiding an elbow or worse from the Illini forward.
At one point during the 2001-02 season, I was starting to wonder if this Illinois team could miss the tournament after three straight brutal losses. Of course, that was never a possibility, though losing three games in a row was unthinkable for such a talented squad. Ultimately, the Illini would rally and finish the season strong, with Johnson accelerating his rehab and coming back.
Clearly not the same player, Johnson wanted to finish what he started with his Illinois teammates, providing limited minutes off the bench. Sadly, the 2001-02 Illinois team would lose in the Sweet Sixteen to Kansas, with Johnson scoring two points in ten minutes during his final game. Man, how I wanted that group of seniors (Johnson, Bradford, Williams, Krupalija and Archibald) to get to a Final Four!
In all honesty, Johnson should have probably taken a medical redshirt his last season, but it is understandable why he didn't. Still, part of me wonders what the 2002-03 Illini team would have looked like with Johnson starting at the three, senior Brian Cook and freshman James Augustine down low and freshmen Deron Williams and Dee Brown in the backcourt. That would have certainly been an even more entertaining team than it already was.
Years later, Johnson is still one of the most beloved Illini players for fans of that time period as evident just a few years ago. At the beginning of the 2021-22 season, I attended the Illinois game at Marquette. After Illinois blew the game late, morose Illini fans started filing out in the hallways. Suddenly, the energy changed when fans spotted a very tall man ahead.
"Lucas! Lucas!" the crowd shouted out.
Johnson turned around with a big smile and waved to the crowd before taking pictures with fans.
The last time I heard Johnson was a high school math teacher, which as a teacher myself, makes me incredibly happy to hear. As a player, Johnson was like that annoying kid in class who would get on your nerves but you couldn't get too mad at because of his good nature and talent, in other words, a lovable jerk in the nicest sense of the term.
One of the more memorable characters and fiercest players in Illinois basketball history, Lucas Johnson is a player that every team needs, a guy who left it all on the court and yet kept things loose. If you never saw Johnson play for the Illini, I would compare him a bit to David Mirkovic, in terms of not their games but definitely their larger-than-life personalities (and maybe their foot speed, just kidding).
Hopefully, the Johnson family legacy will continue at Illinois with his daughter, the highly-rated Liv of Carmel High School, playing for the Illini women's team in a few seasons. It would certainly be great to see Lucas back at the State Farm Center, this time as a proud father as opposed to his playing career as a perpetual spark plug and instigator.
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