JWCC’s Talton finds ‘great fit for me’ as he commits to play at Division I Lindenwood

QUINCY — Looking back now, the sidestep Jeremiah Talton took on his path to an NCAA Division I college basketball program might have been the best thing for him.

Lindenwood University gets to see the benefits of that for the next three years.

The John Wood Community College freshman swingman and former Quincy High School all-stater committed to the Lions this week, announcing his decision on social media Thursday evening.

“When I visited, it just felt right,” the 6-foot-6 Talton said. “The campus is nice. I love the coaches. It just felt like it was a great fit for me. He explained where I would fit in their system, and I can’t turn down a great opportunity like that, especially in a great conference like that, too.”

Lindenwood, a former member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, finished its first season as an D-I program and a member of the Ohio Valley Conference with an 11-21 record. The Lions closed the season with back-to-back victories, including beating Southeast Missouri State, which won the OVC Tournament championship and played in the NCAA Tournament.

Four of the Lions’ top five scorers were seniors.

“The coaches told me since Day 1 when they started recruiting me that they need shooters and that’s what I do best,” Talton said. “If I come in and work my tail off, I’ll be able to get some playing time. He told me with shooters if you miss the first two he wants you shooting the third. Having that kind of faith in me meant a lot, too.”

It’s the kind of faith JWCC coach Brad Hoyt showed in Talton as well.

Originally signed to play at the University of New Orleans following his senior season at QHS, Talton decommitted in late May last year and landed at JWCC, looking for a place to improve his game and develop into a D-I commodity.

“Coach Hoyt pushed me,” Talton said. “That’s what I wanted. The first day we sat in his office, I told him I want to come here and be pushed. We didn’t accomplish all of the team goals that we wanted, but developing myself was my individual goal. He helped me do that.”

Talton was named the Region 24 Player of the Year, the Mid-West Athletic Conference Player of the Year and the MWAC Freshman of the Year. He averaged 21.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent from the free-throw line.

His 162 made free throws ranked third in the nation in NJCAA Division II and his 626 total points ranked 11th.

“Being more physical, playing against older dudes, it made me adjust both physically and mentally,” Talton said. “I got a lot stronger. My ballhandling got better. There’s still a long ways to go, but I improved in a lot of areas that I wasn’t good at in high school.”

As a senior at QHS in 2021-22, Talton averaged 18.5 points and scored 630 points, which ranks 12th in program history in single-season scoring. He finished his career with 1,487 points, which ranks eighth in program history and makes him one of 22 QHS players all-time to score at least 1,000 career points.

Talton also set single-season and career 3-point records, making 104 treys this season and finishing his career with 229 3-pointers made. In the process, he led the Blue Devils to a 28-6 record and was named the Western Big 6 Conference MVP.