Standout center Jeremiah Tilmon of East St. Louis has given a commitment to the University of Illinois.
The 6’10” 235-pound Tilmon is ranked among the top players nationally in the Class of 2017. He is ranked No. 19 by Scout.com, No. 25 by Rivals and No. 30 by ESPN.
Tilmon chose Illinois over other top programs such as North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan State and Texas. He becomes the highest ranked recruit to commit to the Illini since John Groce took over the program as head coach in 2012.
Tilmon spent his first two years of high school at East St. Louis High, where he was an All Southwestern Conference selection. Last season, Tilmon played at La Lumiere Prep in Indiana.
He becomes the second Metro East player to commit to the Illinois as part of the 2017 class. Belleville East standout Javon Pickett has already committed to the Fighting Illini. Illinois is also in the hunt for Belleville Althoff standout Jordan Goodwin.
Carte’are Gordon takes another ‘ship
It has been a fantastic couple of weeks for Webster Groves standout Carte’are Gordon.
After winning a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA U17 World Championships in Spain, Gordon flew to North Augusta, S.C. to help his MoKan Elite team win the championship at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam, the most prestigious tournament on the summer grassroots circuit.
Gordon has six points and eight rebounds in MoKan’s 93-65 victory over the PSA Cardinals (NY) in the championship game, which was televised nationally on ESPNU. He also had 12 points and six rebounds in a victory over California Supreme in the semifinals and a high game of 15 points against King James in pool play. Gordon averaged 10 points a game in the Peach Jam as MoKan Elite finished with an 8-0 record.
Tournaments in STL this weekend
There will be two big NCAA Certified Grassroots Tournaments in the St. Louis area this weekend.
The Adidas 3 Stripes Invitational will be held at Lindenwood University from Thursday to Sunday. The tournament is being presented by the Gateway Basketball Club. The St. Louis Eagles Battle for the Arch Tournament will be held from Friday to Sunday at Whitfield and Pattonville High Schools.
Both tournaments will be bringing in top grassroots programs from around the metro area, Midwest region and the entire country. College coaches from around the country will also be in attendance as this is part of the July evaluation period.
Some of the top national players expected to play at the Adidas 3 Stripes at Lindenwood include: 6’6” guard Romeo Langford of Eric Gordon (IN), who is one of the top players in the Class of 2018; 6’7” Darius Hall of Team Magic (TN), who has committed to Arkansas. Other highly ranked kids include: 6’4” DeVon Cooper of Eric Gordon (IN), 6’3” Jalen Crutcher of Team Magic (TN) and 6’8” Reggie Perry of the Arkansas Hawks.
Among the top local players expected to play are Vashon teammates Daniel “Peanut” Farris and Levi Stockard of Gateway. Other Gateway standouts include Yale commit Wyatt Yess of Parkway West, Ryan Stipanovich of DeSmet and Javonte Perkins of Miller Career Academy.
The host St. Louis Eagles feature many top prospects who will be over at Whitfield and Pattonville. They include standouts Jordan Goodwin of Belleville Althoff, Brandon McKissic of SLUH, Reginald Crawford of Chaminade and point guard Darius Garland from Nashville (TN). They are all part of the 17U team that qualified for the Nike EYBL Peach Jam.
