Among the most talented basketball players recruited to Virginia Commonwealth University by former Coach Shaka Smart was Justin Tillman.

Among the top players current Coach Will Wade recruited to VCU was Justin Tillman.

To explain, there are recruits, then there are re-recruits.

Tillman actually chose VCU twice. The first time was coming out of Detroit’s Pershing High School in 2014. He then opted to be a Ram again in 2015, after changing his mind about transferring.

Tillman was devastated by Coach Smart’s decision to leave VCU for the University of Texas in the spring of 2015. Tillman announced at the time he would be exploring new addresses.

A few days later, he did what a quality post player does — he pivoted.

Coach Wade’s convincing style won him over.

One of the juiciest nuggets of information Coach Wade has received at VCU was this Tweet from Tillman at 9:46 p.m. April 15, 2015:

“I have decided to be here with my brothers and stay at VCU. RAMNATION!! #Brotherhood #Family.

So instead of losing a four-star talent (rated by Scout and ESPN), the Rams have come to lean on the 6-foot-7, 215-pound high flyer with the can’t-miss mane.

Despite last Saturday’s 69-63 loss at Davidson College, the Rams are 14-4 overall, and 4-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. VCU started the week with an RPI power ranking of 35 among 351 NCAA Division I schools.

Tillman, perhaps the bounciest in-the-paint Ram since Kendrick Warren in the early 1990s, averages 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and is hitting 58 percent from the floor, mostly on theatrical slams.

Tillman, ranked fourth in the A-10 in rebounding to start the week, would be No. 1 if the statistic was based on rebounds per minutes instead of per game.

Tillman, in just 23 minutes per game, averages a rebound every 3 minutes on the floor.

By comparison, George Mason University’s Marquis Moore leads the A-10 with 10.8 rebounds per game, but his per minute average is 3.25.

The University of St. Louis’ Reggie Agbeko, ranked second, averages 8.2 rebounds, but only one every 3.4 minutes.

No. 3 Denzel Gregg of St. Bonaventure University averages 7.9 rebounds, but one every 4.5 minutes. No. 4 T.J. Cline of Richmond is at 7.9 per game, or one every 4.4 minutes.

In the Davidson loss, Tillman had 11 points and nine rebounds in just 15 foul-plagued minutes. He narrowly missed a third straight double-double by one rebound.

There should be plenty of opportunities to snare missed shots this Sunday, Jan. 22, when LaSalle University comes calling at the Siegel Center.

Both the Explorers and the Rams are freewheeling outfits. LaSalle, 10-5 overall and 4-1 in the A-10, averages 82 points per game. The Rams average 75 points per game.

The Philadelphians started the week with a five-game winning streak, including a head-turning 87-75 win at the University of Rhode Island on Thursday, Jan. 12.

Tillman is among the few athletes ever recruited to VCU out of Michigan.

Pershing High School, in Detroit’s inner-city, has produced two Naismith Basketball All-Americans, Mel Daniels and Spencer Haywood, plus comedian Tim Meadows of “Saturday Night Live” fame, and the late Levi Stubbs of The Four Tops.

Tillman arrived at VCU at the same time as another touted freshman, Terry Larrier, out of Bronx, N.Y.

Following Coach Smart’s decision to head to Texas, Larrier bolted for the University of Connecticut. Soon after, Tillman said he was leaving for points unknown. There were many suitors.

Coach Wade wasn’t able to lasso Larrier, but he coaxed Tillman back into the mix. Considering everything, it was a golden moment of VCU hoops.