Jeremiah Tilmon

Jeremiah Tilmon, 6' 11”, C, East St. Louis, Illinois, 2017 High School Class

16-year-old center Jeremiah Tilmon showed flashes of potential with his size, length, mobility, hands, footwork and shot blocking ability. Tilmon did most of his damage on the defensive end, covering ground and altering shots with his 7' 2” wingspan and impressive instincts for his age.

He's very raw on the defensive end, but Tilmon still blocked 3.6 shots per 40 minutes pace adjusted and contested a handful on the perimeter. The East St. Louis product also came up with 1.8 steals per 40 minutes pace adjusted. Tilmon's body and frame aren't elite, but he has very good strength at 245 pounds, and excellent agility.

Tilmon has a long way to go on the offensive end, although he did show flashes of soft hands and impressive footwork. He lacks natural feel and makes a lot of the same mistakes most 16-year-old bigs make – spinning into help defenders, bringing the ball down in traffic, crumbling versus double teams. Tilmon also forced up a contested 18 footer early in the shot clock only to have it blocked and get a quick earful from his coaching staff.

Simply put, he's a work in progress on both ends of the floor but can block shots, cover ground on defense, offensive rebound, and catch and finish. Tilmon isn't quite as bouncy or physically impressive as some of the other top bigs in his class, but he has a solid combination of tools and skills, and is without a doubt worth tracking moving forward.