Pickett leads former Illinois signees in Missouri’s rivalry win
They envisioned orange uniforms, not gold ones.
Throughout high school, Javon Pickett, Mark Smith and Jeremiah Tilmon talked about suiting up together for Illinois, taking on opponents while representing their home state. All three committed to the Illini, and their paths looked set.
Missouri fans should be happy plans fell through. The once-Illini crew helped the Tigers (8-3) knock off Illinois 79-63 in the annual Braggin’ Rights game, and Pickett — the lowest-ranked recruit of the three — had the best game of his college career.
Pickett made his first seven shots and scored a career-high 16 points. His only miss of the night came with under two minutes left in the game.
“Javon is as tough as they come,” Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. “The one thing I’ve found out about Mark and Javon: They’ll do everything in their power to try to get it right. … It’ll work out for guys like that.”
Pickett and Tilmon de-committed from Illinois when the school fired coach John Groce. Smith followed through on his commitment but transferred to Missouri after only one season.
The Illinois faithful greeted all three with boos during pregame introductions. Pickett didn’t hear the loudest jeers: He never suited up for Illinois like Smith, and he wasn’t a five-star recruit like Tilmon. But with the way he frustrated the Illini on Saturday, he could hear a few more boos next year.
“I think he played a great game,” Tilmon said. “He was being very productive the whole time on the court, and he was playing hard.”
Illinois, which lacks a strong post presence, had no answer for Tilmon. He finished with a double-double, dropping 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Smith scored five, and the Missouri bench mobbed him when he checked out of the game for the final time on the night.
Pickett scored his first points off an Illinois turnover, and he put Missouri up 34-32 with another layup late in the first half. He nailed both his three-point attempts, energizing the gold half of the Enterprise Center.
Though Pickett graduated high school the same year as Smith and Tilmon, he’s in his first year on Missouri’s campus. The Tigers didn’t have an available scholarship when he committed, so he planned to play a season for Sunrise Christian Academy, a prep school in Wichita, to stay fresh. He ultimately left Sunrise Academy with a torn labrum and recovered at his home in Belleville, Ill.
“The great thing about his game is he’s always been built to be a slasher,” Martin said. “He slashes, cuts to the basket, posts up. When that kind of activity happens, that’s his game.”
Missouri needed him to do more than that Saturday, and he answered. Eight of his points came from mid-range or three-point jumpers.
The final minute felt more like a celebration than a basketball game. After spending all game tuning out the crowd, Pickett gave a nod of affirmation when a Missouri fan yelled, “Great game, Pickett!”
As the clock wound down, he ran to the bench with his arms in the air. Martin hugged Smith, and the Missouri fans gave Tilmon a loud cheer when he left the game.
“It was very exciting,” Pickett said. “At that point all you can do is scream and jump up and down.”
When time expired, the freshman walked toward center court. Grinning, he lifted the front of his jersey, showing off the Tigers’ logo for all to see.
This story was originally published December 23, 2018 at 12:03 AM.