Dec. 12, 2006

ATHENS, Ohio - When Jerome Tillman came on a recruiting trip to Ohio University, he saw a situation he liked and felt he could excel in.

"I came to visit late in the signing period and I liked it a lot. I had heard great things about Ohio basketball and I felt like I could come in and make a great impact for the team," Tillman said.

Tillman would make an immediate impact, as last year he was named to the MAC All-Freshman Team. Had he not been fighting illness twice during his rookie campaign, Tillman believes he could have had a chance at MAC Freshman of the year.

"I figure, if I had been healthy, I could have been the freshman of the year. Being named to the team was a great accolade for me, but I always feel I can get better in some aspect of my game," Tillman said.

Improve he has, as Tillman is coming off a monster weekend at the NABC Classic in Louisville, Ky. Not only was the sophomore named to the all-tournament team but the Mid-American Conference bestowed him with MAC East Player of the Week honors.

"Both are great accomplishments for me and I am grateful and appreciative of the honors. I worked hard in the off-season, and my teammates and coaches are the ones who helped put me in position to earn these awards."

On the season Tillman is averaging 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as compared to 6.7 and 3.8 during his freshman season. Tillman set a career high in points, with 23, during the team's victory over Bellarmine this past weekend.

Following last year's season, Tillman was finally able to get healthy and set out to improve his game.

"Because I was sick at the end of last year, conditioning became an issue, so that has been one of my biggest improvements. Also I worked a lot with coach [Brian] Townsend on how to watch myself on tape and notice the areas that I need to improve on in my game."

Tillman focused on making his own improvements in the off-season, and says that as a team, they are focused on returning to the NCAA Tournament.

"Everybody on the team is hungry and we're really, really focused on what we need to do. We know it is not going to be easy to win the MAC Championship and get back to the NCAA Tournament, but as a team, we feel we are ready to make it happen."

Tillman and the Bobcats are in the midst of an 11-day lay-off following a 3-1 road trip. The squad will get back in action on Dec. 21 when they take on Davidson in the first round of the ASU Sleep America Classic in Tempe, Ariz.