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Back in October 2017 — when everybody’s attention was on Michael Porter Jr., who would go on to play less than an hour of game time in his Missouri career — another freshman made a memorable first impression in a long and complicated career.

Early in an exhibition game against Kansas, Jeremiah Tilmon caught a pass on the low block, dropped-stepped and banked in a shot. (Not many young big men have footwork like that.) Tilmon knifed through the lane and slammed home a teammate’s missed shot. (That wasn’t the sort of explosive athleticism we had come to expect from a big man of genus Rosburg and species Ryan.) And Tilmon roamed far from the basket and committed obvious fouls on both ends of the court. (That seemed odd but not necessarily ominous.)

Tilmon finished with 10 points in just 13 minutes (wow!). He committed seven fouls in just 13 minutes (also wow!).

I looked back on what I wrote afterward, which was that Tilmon “should be a star if he can just curb his enthusiasm as far as fouling is concerned.” Similarly, John Wayne Gacy would be a fine clown for your child’s birthday party if he could just moderate his desire to murder.

For three years, Tilmon couldn’t stay on the floor long enough to do more than tease us, thanks to one thing and then another, from fouls to tooth trouble to injuries. It wasn’t always his fault, but it seemed Tilmon was holding back Tilmon. Cuonzo Martin was guilty, too, of expecting Tilmon to be something he wasn’t, as happened early last year when Martin planned an offense to play inside-out through a big man who’s at his best on the move.

But the reason you don’t give up on 6-foot-10 guys is at some point they might figure out how to use the skills they have. That happened for two of Tilmon’s predecessors who had far less athletic wiggle room than he does. At the end of Rosburg’s senior year, he went on a tear, averaging 15 points in the last nine games of 2016. Reed Nikko scored in double figures in four of his last 12 games in 2020.

Now, it is happening for Tilmon. Or, rather, Tilmon is making it happen.

He’s making good decisions. (Do you even worry about him getting into foul trouble anymore?) He’s rebounding much better, blocking shots, dunking with authority, patiently putting together post moves and passing out of double-teams. He’s posted a double-double in four of the last six games. He’s smiling, a lot. He’s probably going to finish his college career in the NCAA Tournament.

Tilmon’s senior-year progress is part of the appeal of college basketball. Yes, it happened more often in the past when most players stayed put for four years. But rather than moan about some of the players leaving before we get to know them, I’d rather celebrate a player who kept at it and realized his potential in time for all of us to enjoy it with him.