Thornton’s Morez Johnson wasn’t having a very good day.
The senior forward — considered by some to be the best player in the state — found out Tuesday afternoon he wasn’t one of 24 picked for the McDonald’s All-American game.
The Illinois recruit tried to shrug off the snub with a little humor.
“I always liked the 4 for $4,” Johnson said of a former promotion at Wendy’s, which is a rival of McDonald’s. “I never cared for a Big Mac.”
Johnson’s day got a bit tougher Tuesday night when he went scoreless and took just one shot in the first half while being bottled up in a rivalry game against host Bloom.
“I think Morez was a little bit down for not making the McDonald’s game,” Wildcats coach Tai Streets said. “I think that bothered him a little bit. He wasn’t playing like himself.”
But not for long. Johnson turned into Big Morez, erupting for 21 points in the second half and leading Thornton to a 69-52 Southland Athletic Conference victory in Chicago Heights.
The 6-foot-9 Johnson scored 16 points in the fourth quarter as Thornton (19-2, 6-1) avenged a 65-54 loss on Dec. 1 to the Blazing Trojans. Isaiah Green contributed 17 points and seven assists, while Johnson added 10 rebounds and Meyoh Swansey had 11 points and five rebounds.
Sophomore guard Amare Pryor paced Bloom (12-6, 4-1) with 16 points off the bench, including 12 in the fourth. Elijah Lovemore scored 14 points and Santana Flowers had 11.
While Johnson tried playing off the McDonald’s snub, Streets blew a gasket at 2 p.m. when the names were released and Johnson’s name was not to be found on the list.
“He deserved to go to that game,” Streets said. “That was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of. It’s crap. They should be embarrassed.
“That’s terrible by that committee. It’s awful. It’s garbage. Garbage. I have no respect for them. And I want them to know that.”
Streets believes the snub is political involving rival shoe companies.
Johnson also confirmed his belief that politics were involved.
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“It’s crazy,” Johnson said. “I’ll bet if I went to (a prep school) or something like that, I would have been on there. But it’s all good.”
Even his former coach thought Johnson should have been a part of that elite game.
Roshawn Russell, Johnson’s coach at St. Rita for three years and now an assistant at St. Laurence, posted on X that “Morez Johnson 100% deserves to be in this game!!! Many deserve to be on this list. Morez was definitely missed!!!”
Thornton, meanwhile, showed its depth Tuesday night by leading 26-23 at halftime despite Johnson not having scored a point.
“Morez is the catalyst,” Streets said. “But everyone played well.”
Green knew after Johnson’s quiet first half there would be a breakout in the final 16 minutes.
“Of course,” Green said. “We always have faith in him, in and out of the game.”
Streets also is a believer.
“You saw in the second half,” Streets said. “When he wants something, he goes out and gets it.”
The Wildcats savored the revenge victory. Johnson had a big smile on his face after the final horn, while Streets pumped his fist and yelled to the Thornton crowd.
It was a much different scene than when they lost in Harvey — their first loss of the season.
“We learned from our mistakes from that last game,” Green said. “We corrected them. We weren’t blocking out and our energy wasn’t good. Our defense wasn’t good and we weren’t sharing the ball.
“We just changed all that in this game.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.