Illinois Basketball: Is UNC Really a Better Fit for Jeremiah Tilmon?
The recruitment of center Jeremiah Tilmon has been the talk of many Illinois basketball fans over the last several months.
Tilmon is one of the top players in the class of 2017. Scout has him listed as the 10th best prospect in the country and the 5th best center in the class.
Throughout Tilmon’s recruitment, it seems that no one can put a finger on which way he is going to go when it is all said and done. With most recruits it is like that, though.
Recent reports are that it might end up being between Illinois and North Carolina for the coveted recruit.
Since it might be down to Illinois and North Carolina, I want to see why it would be better for him to come to Champaign instead of Chapel Hill.
North Carolina has a rich tradition of winning. They also have one of the winningest coaches in college basketball history in Roy Williams.
But, when you pull back the layers, is it really the best place for Tilmon to go?
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The Tar Heels are recruiting Tilmon pretty hard because in 2017 they might be short at the center position. But, they aren’t counting on the fact that they may have other centers coming in from recruiting.
In the class of 2016, North Carolina has center Tony Bradley entering the program.
Bradley is a 5-star center that is the 26th best player in the class of 2016 and the 6th best center. He is a great get for North Carolina, but not a guaranteed one-and-done.
So, automatically if Tilmon decides on the Tar Heels he is probably going to be a backup to Bradley in 2017.
Tilmon would also have to take into account the fact that North Carolina is recruiting two other centers for 2017 as well.
Wendell Carter is one of those centers. He stands at 6-foot-10 and 240-pounds.
Right now it is being reported that Carter is leaning towards Duke. But, with North Carolina being such a powerhouse program you never know what could happen. And Scout also has the Tar Heels in his top five.
The other center is a possibility for North Carolina as well.
Mohamed Bamba is a 6-foot-11 big man from Pennsylvania. He is the 2nd best player in the nation and will likely cut his list to ten teams in August.
I think the recruitment of Bamba is wide open and Scout has North Carolina in his top six teams.
So, with North Carolina, it is going to be tough to see playing time for Tilmon. It is most likely he will be a backup center year one to Bradley. That might end up being the best case scenario.
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But if the Tar Heels get either Carter or Bamba for 2017, I see a big timeshare for Tilmon and that is not a good way to get noticed by NBA scouts. That would make him have to compete with two other centers for playing time.
This is something that he won’t have to deal with at Illinois.
The Illini will have no true centers when 2017 rolls around. They have Michael Finke right now, who is a 6-foot-10 stretch four who attempted to play center last season because of injuries to the team.
Finke is a great shooter but lacks on the defensive end of the court and has troubles rebounding at times. Besides for him, the center position is wide open.
Illinois has the national notoriety and the platform for Tilmon to be seen on a nightly basis by millions of viewers and NBA scouts. He will have a chance to display his talents in the best conference in college basketball, the Big Ten.
The opportunities that Illinois will give him are much better than North Carolina. He has a chance to bring the Illini back to prominence and become a sports hero, or he can go to North Carolina and ride the pine for a few years before, maybe, getting a chance to start.
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I think the choice is obvious, but I maybe a little bias. The facts are there and I think Illinois gives Tilmon the best platform to get to the next level.