Birthday boy Tilmon showcases maturity, discipline on both ends

In the days leading up to Missouri’s season opener against Oral Roberts, coaches and players raved about how different this year’s team is from past seasons. One player who went into detail about how different the vibe is was center Jeremiah Tilmon.

Tilmon spoke highly in regard to his personal growth, noting a change in his demeanor this offseason. Tilmon stated that he was “all over the place” during his first three seasons at Missouri. Now, he enters his senior season feeling at peace.

Tilmon, who turned 22 on Wednesday, showed during Missouri’s 91-64 win that his new approach to the game may do wonders for the Tigers.

Offensively, Tilmon manned the paint while also setting screens and finding open teammates. Tilmon kicked off the Tigers’ season with a put-back dunk, finishing with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting. While he didn’t have his number called on offense much, Tilmon stayed aggressive on the glass, posting a game-high four offensive rebounds.

“He’s a guy that’s going to score the ball,” coach Cuonzo Martin said. “He’s going to demand guys to corral him in the post.”

Even though it may not show up on the stat sheet, Tilmon’s defensive presence anchored Missouri. Oral Roberts didn’t attack the paint often, in part because of Tilmon’s size and length-altering shots. The Golden Eagles relied heavily on outside shooting, but that didn’t amount to much either. Oral Roberts shot 7-for-35 from three, digging itself into a hole it could never escape.

With Oral Roberts misfiring from the perimeter, Tilmon had an opportunity to rack up rebounds and outlet the ball to his guards. Tilmon finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.

“I shouldn’t get less than 10 rebounds a game,” Tilmon said. “Not to sound cocky or nothing, but that’s what my team expects of me.”

Tilmon’s ability to stay on the floor has been his biggest issue during his first three seasons. While Tilmon has lowered his fouls per game every season since his freshman year, he still made a point to work on it in the offseason, and it looks like it’s paid off.

Tilmon committed only one foul Wednesday, a blocking call early in the second half. To put that into perspective, Tilmon committed one or no fouls only three times last season. Even in the rare instance a Golden Eagle drove into the paint, Tilmon stayed vertical, showing discipline.

While Oral Roberts likely won’t be the benchmark for Tilmon’s progress, it is a step in the right direction for the Missouri senior. Tilmon still needs to work on turnovers and sloppy passes, but if he can give the Tigers a similar performance throughout the season, there’s no telling how far Missouri could go.

“I’m just going to continue to push myself and go hard, regardless of how tired I am,” Tilmon said. “It’s the last go-around, so I should make sure I leave it out there, regardless of what’s going on.”