Four-star forward Jeremiah Tilmon will re-open his recruitment after asking for a release from the Illinois Fighting Illini on Wednesday afternoon.
One of the top college basketball recruits in the nation is suddenly back on the market.
Jeremiah Tilmon, a 6-10 forward out of East St. Louis, requested a release from his National Letter of Intent to play for the Illinois Fighting Illini, according to a post on his Instagram on Wednesday. Schools do not have to release a player from a NLI, but almost always do so to avoid deterring future recruits from coming.
After a number of top programs around the nation showed interest, Tilmon committed to Illinois last June and signed the NLI back in November. This news comes as a major surprise to the Illini, as Tilmon confirmed his commitment to Illinois just two days ago on Twitter.
Tilmon is regarded as a four-star recruit and the No. 8 power forward in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. At 6-10 and 220 pounds with an advanced skill set on both ends of the floor, Tilmon could make an immediate impact in 2017.
Illinois fired head coach John Groce after a 20-15 season and second straight NCAA Tournament miss, which was likely the main factor in Tilmon’s decision. While the Illini retained assistant coach Jamall Walker, the main recruiter for Tilmon, he is still deciding to head elsewhere.
With Illinois out of the picture, the Missouri Tigers appear to be the favorite to land Tilmon. New head coach Cuonzo Martin is a terrific recruiter, and the Tigers already landed a late commitment from No. 2 overall recruit Michael Porter Jr. after he was released from a NLI to Washington.
Michigan State, North Carolina and Kansas were among the other schools to offer Tilmon early in the recruiting process. Tilmon also expressed some interest in staying home and playing for Saint Louis last year.
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The Illini will still have a pair of four-star commits in Trent Frazier and DaMonte Williams coming in, but losing TIlmon is a big blow for first-year head coach Brad Underwood.