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Q&A: Demetrius Lilley talks Penn State pledge, body transformation + more

Penn State Nittany Lions basketball received a commitment from Lower Merion center Demetrius Lilley last Friday.

The commitment moved Penn State's Class of 2022 to 17th in the Rivals rankings, with Lilley becoming the fifth member of the class.

BWI caught up with Lilley to break down his commitment.

RELATED: In-state big man Demetrius Lilley commits to Penn State basketball

Penn State Nittany Lions basketball earned a commitment from Lower Merion C Demetrius Lilley.
Penn State Nittany Lions basketball earned a commitment from Lower Merion C Demetrius Lilley.
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BWI: Just to start, what about Penn State checked the boxes for you?

Lilley: The football games [laughs]. The atmosphere was great. The coaching staff, it just felt like a family to me when I went up there. The players, the coaching staff, even the students that went there, they were amazing. Just them being with me since me starting my process of losing weight over the summer, that just made me choose them.

BWI: When it comes down to it, what role did coach [Micah] Shrewsberry play into your decision?

Lilley: I love how he offered me face-to-face. That got me right there, just him offering me a scholarship face-to-face was crazy. Also, he's a Black coach. You don't really get that a lot right now, so definitely him being African American was great, him being able to feel where I come from and everything. When I went on a visit, he was just straight up with me. He was like, when you come here, you're going to have to earn minutes, do this, do that. I was like, let's go. A lot of coaches would have told me that you're going to come here, you're going to start, you're going to be our main player — lie to me. I like that he was straightforward with me. That's how Coach Shrewsberry is.

BWI: What do you remember about that conversation with Coach Shrewsberry? I bet it was surreal.

Lilley: It was just him explaining what my role was, how I would fit into their style of play — just the way that they're going to use me when I go there. After all that, he just told me how great a player I am and he shook my hand and said, 'I'm gong to offer you a scholarship.' That right there just got me — it was a strong Penn State decision, that's where I wanted to go.

BWI: What did he have to say about his plan for you?

Lilley: Being able to be a versatile big, but not just being a big, being able to do everything on the floor — being able to pass, being able to shoot, being able to just do everything, shoot, pass dribble, bring the ball up, push the ball and make plays and everything.

BWI: I know you mentioned it a little bit there at the beginning, but what has the weight loss journey been like for you, and where are you at now with that?

Lilley: Oh man. It started in the beginning of the summer. I played [AAU] for DC Premier. After DC Premier, I couldn't go up there anymore because of COVID, and it was too far and I was still in school. I went to go play for Philly Pride because it was closer. I played one or two tournaments with Philly Pride. After Philly Pride, I said I wanted to work on my body, because me playing in front of college coaches not at my full potential just wasn't it. So I decided not to play AAU in order to work on my body. A lot of people thought it was stupid and dumb idea. That gave me just more motivation to do that. So, I stopped playing AAU, and just strictly, every day, worked on my body, ate right, worked on my body. My full day consisted of basketball and weight lifting. That was my whole summer. I was just proud of how much I lost. I think I lost 30-35 pounds, and then I gained a lot of muscle. I still have a lot of fat, but mostly muscle.

BWI: You took an official at the same time that Kebba [Njie] did and obviously Kebba committed too. Did you get to know him at all and what do you think of him?

Lilley: We scrimmaged, and he's definitely a great player. I think when I committed I saw his Instagram, I looked him up. He's an amazing player. Definitely playing with him next year is going to be amazing. Being up there with him, his vibes were great. He's an awesome player.

BWI: I'll let you go after this one, but I've been asking all the guys that commit to Penn State about this — You guys are coming in and you're going to be the start of something new here. What about that appealed to you when you made your choice?

Lilley: Definitely, it's going to be the start of something new. That's the main reason I chose the school, chose Penn State. It's just because they're building something really new, and this is a new coach. When we go through, it's going to be his second year coaching. It's a bunch of new guys, a bunch of guys that I know. I know Jameel Brown, I know a couple of guys that committed. Just starting something new, that gives me a lot of motivation because it puts a lot of pressure on us to come in and do what we have to do. That's the main reason I chose Penn State, because we're going to build a new legacy.

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