Brian Flinn:
Future150 National Recruiting Analyst. Covering high school basketball nationally.
New York, NY (Future150) -- Recruitniks may or may not be familiar with 2017 forward Donnie Tillman at this point, and for good reason. The Michigan native was an important piece on last year's Findlay Prep squad as a sophomore, even starting quite a few games. This year was a different story, as the talented combo-forward was hampered by a nagging injury for a majority of the season.
Because of that, Tillman went from promising sophomore, to a bit of an afterthought in recruiting circles; that changed in a big way during the first session of the EYBL season.
Playing with the Oakland Soldiers, Tillman showcased his toughness and winning mentality that has made him so attractive to college coaches. The do-it-all forward summed up his game the best following the first session.
"I don't really think I have a position, I'm just a ball player, I'll go out and do anything that the coaches need me to do and to get my team the win, because that's what it's about," said Tillman.
The beauty in Tillman's approach to the game is not only his elite mental makeup, but truly the ability to play anywhere from shooting guard to power forward. At 6-foot-7, he has the toughness to guard bigger players and rebound effectively (he's averging over 6 in the first two sessions of EYBL), while also scoring in a varierty of ways (12.1 PPG). In order for him to be seen as more of a wing, he will need to improve his three point stroke, as well as tighten up his ball-handling a bit as well.
Still, plenty of coaches are interested in the Michigan product. Marquette, Iowa State, Creighton, USC, SDSU, UTEP and Dayton are among the programs who have already offered. Arizona, UCLA, Xavier, Kansas, TCU, Iowa, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Washington, Butler and Ohio State are all showing interest as well.
Tillman mentioned that he tried to take things away from Draymond Green, which is a bit ironic given that he plays very similarly to the former Michigan State product. While he may not end up back in his home state for college, that is still very much up in the air. One thing is for certain; Donnie Tillman is back, and he will be successful wherever he lands.
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