When you see Mizzou’s Jeremiah Tilmon laugh after picking up a foul, here’s why

If laughter is the best medicine, Jeremiah Tilmon is trying to use it as a prescription for his foul trouble.

With Jontay Porter out for the season because of an ACL tear, Tilmon’s ability to stay on the floor is paramount to Missouri’s basketball success. In his freshman season, Tilmon committed the fifth-most personal fouls per game at 3.67.

But while Tilmon has shown a better effort at avoiding the whistle this season, only so much of it is in his control. Instead of reacting negatively when a call goes against him, he’s now trying to have a sense of humor.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore joked after MU’s win over Central Florida on Dec. 2 that if he was tangled up underneath the basket for a 50-50 ball, “you know they’re calling it on me.”

Tilmon’s reputation doesn’t always earn him the benefit of the doubt.

“A lot of those fouls on Jeremiah aren’t really fouls,” senior Kevin Puryear said. “They’re predetermined calls just because he’s Jeremiah. He’s done a great job of handling it.”

The debate of whether Tilmon can earn his way into getting the benefit of the doubt depends on who you ask.

Puryear said he’s seen Tigers coach Cuonzo Martin talking to officials throughout games to get a feel for how they’re calling certain fouls. Martin has sent clips of specific plays to the league office for feedback.

“I think it’s above our control now,” Puryear said. “The best thing Jeremiah could do is stay within (himself). Be smart. There’s also been a couple of times where I’ve been like, ‘Yeah Jeremiah you got him, you got him pretty good.’”

When he picked up fouls last season, Tilmon would visibly show his frustration. He questioned the refs and displayed facial expressions that ranged from shock to suspicious. Porter got on Tilmon throughout their freshmen season and told him that attitude would do him no good and likely fed his current reputation.

This year, Tilmon said he laughs when picking up a foul. He wants to show he’s matured and combat that reputation.

Tilmon said that some calls likely go against him because of his history but he knows that he could be doing more things on his end to avoid the call in the first place.

“(Martin will) be on my a lot about what I do,” Tilmon said. “He feels like they call bad fouls sometimes but I do certain things that I shouldn’t do at the right time. They play both sides.”

Martin said his biggest concern when it comes to the officials is that they get the call right rather than who it goes against. He said that some calls are clearly a toss-up while others are a little more obvious, but if Tilmon focuses too much on fouls instead of playing, it becomes a negative.

“I don’t think it’s about respect,” Martin said. “It’s about the right call. When you lose sight of that that’s when it becomes an issue.”