Following the conclusion of the 2021 NBA Draft, Mizzou basketball’s Dru Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon have both signed summer league contracts with NBA Teams. Smith is headed to the Miami Heat, while Tilmon will join the Orlando Magic.
The two become the latest Tigers to join a successful base in the NBA ranks, including Michael Porter, Jr., Jordan Clarkson and Jontay Porter. All three active Mizzou players in the NBA made the 2021 playoffs.
Smith concluded an outstanding career at Missouri, where he was a standout on both sides of the ball earning First Team All-SEC and All-Defensive honors in the 2020-21 season. Smith was the first Tiger student-athlete to earn a spot on the SEC All-Defensive Team, after he led the conference in steals for his second-consecutive season. The guard also ranked fifth in assists and 13th in scoring.
He was a three-time SEC Player of the Week last season, the only player in the conference to nab the honor three times. He averaged 14.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 steals in the regular season, making himself just one of seven players nationally to hit those marks in the 2020-21 season. He scored in double figures 21 times in 26 games, leading Mizzou in scoring, assists and steals.
In addition to his offensive skills, Smith proved to be a defensive threat ranked second all-time at Mizzou with 2.1 steals per game. He also ranks top-five at Missouri in assists per game and free throw percentage,
Tilmon, Jr. was named to second-team All-SEC for the first postseason honor of his career in 2021. He ended the season averaging 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. As one of the strongest big men in the conference, he shot a stellar 61.4 percent from the field and led the conference with eight double-doubles on the season.
He ranked sixth in the SEC in rebounds per game, fourth in offensive boards and seventh in blocks. Tilmon became the 47th member of Mizzou’s 1,000 point club in the SEC Tournament against Arkansas where he also became the sixth Tiger in program history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks. Tilmon concluded his Mizzou career with 113 career blocks, ranking seventh all-time at Missouri.
The NBA Summer League kicks off on August 8 in Las Vegas.
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