Michigan basketball will welcome eight new players in the 2025-26 season, including forwards Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois transfer) and Oscar Goodman (freshman). Before they make their debut for the Wolverines, however, each has been named to their respective national team for the upcoming 2025 FIBA World Cup.
Johnson will be on Team USA’s U19 team, and Goodman will play for his native New Zealand.
Morez Johnson Jr. and Oscar Goodman heading to FIBA World Cup
With Switzerland serving as host, the FIBA World Cup will run from June 28 – July 6, beginning with three group-stage games. After the group-stage, seeds will be determined for the 16-team tournament culminating in a championship.
Having been a part of the gold-medal winning U18 team in 2024, Johnson will be competing in his second World Cup. He averaged 8.0 points and led the team with 9.0 rebounds per game en route to the championship. Fellow incoming Wolverine Trey McKenney was on the 2024 team as well.
Goodman helped New Zealand win two silver medals in 2022 (U15) and 2023 (U16). He was named to the All-Star 5 team both years, and in 2023 he won MVP of the tournament. Although New Zealand finished fourth in 2024 (U17), Goodman was named to the All-Star 5 team once again.
Team USA is in Group D along with Australia, Cameroon and France. The first game of the group-stage comes against Australia on June 28, followed by matchups with France (June 29) and Cameroon (July 1).
New Zealand is in Group A and will begin the group-stage against Argentina (June 28) before playing Mali (June 29) and Serbia (July 1). All games will be available to watch on Youtube.
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