EDWARDSVILLE - Junior A.J. Tillman played a pivotal role as point guard for Edwardsville's boys' basketball success in the 2022-2023 season.
One big game was a 14-point outburst as the leading scorer for Edwardsville in the Tigers' 45-43 loss to O'Fallon in a Southwestern Conference boys basketball game on Dec. 6 at Lucco-Jackson Gym. It was a game where Tillman and the Tigers played well and competed hard, but in the end, the Panthers hit their shots and free throws when needed to pull out the win.
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Since that game, Tillman has been among the leading scorers for Edwardsville, currently averaging 10.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, scoring his season high of 18 points in a win over Riverview Gardens on Dec. 19 and also hitting for 15 points against Belleville East on Dec. 9 and 13 points twice, against Mary Institute-Country Day in the Scott Credit Union Shootout Dec. 10 and against Cahokia on Dec. 13. Tillman felt he played well, taking care of the ball and getting his shots when he had the opportunities.
The Tigers are currently 9-7, having won three of four in the Don Mauer Holiday invitational at MICDS, taking the consolation championship before losing to East St. Louis on Jan. 3 68-35, and Tillman has been a key part of the team's success to date. For the remainder of the season, he has some ambitious, yet simple goals he'd like to achieve.
Tillman has set some strong goals for the rest of the season for himself and the Tigers as a team.
"I want to make All-Conference first team," Tillman said, "I want to have a winning record, like no more than five losses, maybe. I want to get out of regionals, win the first regional game and just compete every day."
