Mizzou adds top player in Illinois, opens scholarship with Kemp transfer

The Missouri Tigers continued the fast and impressive metamorphosis of its basketball program on Monday, with East St. Louis, Illinois High School senior Jeremiah Tilmon signing with first-year coach Cuonzo Martin.

Tilmon, a 6’10”, 235 pound center, is widely considered the top high school player in the state of Illinois, and comes to Mizzou after originally signing with the home-state Illinois Fighting Illini in November.  All four major recruiting outlets list Tilmon as a four-star prospect, with his signing adding direly needed size to the Mizzou front-line for 2017-2018.

Following Tilmon’s signing with Illinois, things looked solid between the player and the school, but John Groce’s firing in March appeared to serve as the impetus for Tilmon asking out of his letter of intent, a request honored by the Illini on April 11.

With Mizzou hiring East St. Louis native Cuonzo Martin, a quick connection was made between player and coach, with the mid-May signing completing that courtship.

Tilmon is ranked as the #35 player in the U.S. by Scout, #42 by Rivals, #43 by ESPN, and #97 by 247 Sports.  Last year, Tilmon announced his six “finalists” as Mizzou, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Texas.  His signing has Missouri generally seen as having a Top Ten recruiting class, highlighted by the consensus #1 player in America, Michael Porter Jr.

The Tilmon signing, for a few hours, pushed Missouri to its scholarship limit, however, a scholarship has now opened at Mizzou, with 6’9″ forward Jakoby Kemp announcing, through the University of Missouri, his intentions to transfer.  

Kemp, a native of Layton, Utah, signed with Missouri last summer, but never appeared in a game for the Tigers, having redshirted in the 2016-2017 season.

Kemp’s decision would open up a spot at Missouri for Jontay Porter, the younger brother of Michael Porter Jr., who is deciding whether or not to reclassify and enroll at MU next fall.  Jontay Porter is a five-star prospect by Rivals and 247 Sports, with ESPN and Scout rating him a four-star.  

Photo credit – Paul Kopsky / STLHighSchoolSports.com / Belleville, IL