Gavin Schilling: Finding A Home At MSU

Nov. 21, 2014

By Matt Bontorin, MSU Athletic Communications Student Assistant

Michigan State sophomore Gavin Schilling may only be 19 years old, but what the young Spartan lacks in age he makes up in experience. Born in Munich, Germany, the 6-9 forward has already lived in three countries, went to four different high schools and completed his freshman year of college at Michigan State University.

Schilling's mother, Lisa, was born and raised in Chicago, but moved to Germany to pursue a career in the fashion industry. During her time in Germany she met Schilling's father, Andreas, who ran one of the largest media companies in the nation. The two married and gave birth to Gavin in 1995, and moved to Strasbourg, France shortly after.

Schilling attended a German-French school where he grew up trilingual, speaking French, German and English; languages he still speaks fluently today.

In the summer of 2003, Schilling's mother made the decision to move herself and her two sons overseas, back to her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. For Lisa the move was seamless, growing up in America she was able to readjust quickly. Gavin on the other hand took time to adapt. With his father deciding to remain in Europe, Gavin at first felt alone and out of place.

"The transition was tough," said Schilling. "I wasn't really used to the American culture. I was so Europeanized so it was kind of tough for me but I got the hang of it after a while. My mom taught me a lot."

Schilling attended a French international school until 2009, where he played soccer, football and baseball.

While he was highly successful as an American football player, leading his team to nationals in the seventh grade, Schilling picked up basketball in the eighth grade and never looked back.

He began his high school career by attending Loyola Academy, a private Jesuit school in suburban Chicago. Due to his late start in basketball, he was seen by coaches as a raw but extremely talented prospect. Schilling made momentous progress in his first year and made the jump from the freshman team to the sophomore team mid-season.

After a year at Loyola, Schilling went back to Germany to spend the summer with his father. While attending many basketball camps around Munich, he got the attention of Ralph Junge, the head coach of Team Urspring; an elite German basketball academy. Schilling accepted a scholarship from the academy and spent his sophomore year in Ulm, averaging 27 points per game and leading Ursping to a German High School Championship.

With the strong showing Schilling was appointed to the German U-16 national team where he competed in the 2012 FIBA European Championships in Vilnius, Lithuania.

"That was a great experience," said Schilling. "I got to learn a lot about the style of the game over there. I made a lot of friends and embraced the German culture."

Schilling returned to the United States for his junior year and attended De La Salle Institute in Chicago, and played with his current roommate and Spartan guard Alvin Ellis III. With another impressive season, one of the top prep schools in the country came calling for his services.

Nevada's Findlay Prep saw Schilling play with his club team, the Mac Irvin Fire, in the Nike Skills U tournament in Washington D.C, While most of the attention was on his teammate and current Milwaukee Buck, Jabari Parker, Findlay Prep was intrigued by Schilling's upside and potential to become a strong college prospect.

With the goal in mind of making it to the NBA, Schilling made the choice to live on his own in Henderson, Nevada, and join the Findlay Prep Pilots for his senior year of high school.

"Findlay Prep really prepared me for college in general," said Schilling. "I was living alone away from my family. The team was always together too, so it was a great prep for what college life was going to be like."

Schilling's game developed immensely, learning a number of low-post moves while also using his athleticism to pick up rebounds and loose balls. The hustle, size and expanding basketball IQ drew the attention of college coaches around the country but none more than Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.

Izzo saw Schilling as a perfect fit for the Spartans and even compared him to the likes of one of his all-time favorite players; 2000 National Champion Antonio Smith. With the offer on the table, Schilling accepted a scholarship to Michigan State on Mar. 13, 2013, giving MSU its first commitment of the 2013 class.

"There we're a lot of schools recruiting me but the whole basketball tradition of Michigan State sold me," said Schilling. "It's also close to home and I wanted my mom to be able to see my games."

Schilling arrived on campus with high expectations but had a year to grow into his role while he saw spot minutes backing up senior standout Adrian Payne.

"He [Payne] helped me out a lot last year," said Schilling. "I didn't know the system coming in and he made it a point to get me caught up. He also showed me how to be a leader not just on the court but in the community. I'm way more experienced and confident now because I was able to learn under him for a year."

Schilling appeared in all 16 home games last season and was cheered on in every one of them by his mother Lisa; who has been crowned the team's loudest and most supportive parent.

"Ever since I started playing basketball she's always been there at my games," said Schilling. "She's always cheering dancing and always the loudest parent in the stands. It definitely motivates me knowing how much she cares about my success."

After averaging 6.4 minutes and 1.4 points a year ago, the 6-9, 240 pound forward spent the entire summer in East Lansing working with former Spartan guard Travis Walton. He and Walton worked on fine tuning his skills to prepare him to fill the void of the departed Payne.

"This summer went really well," said Schilling. "He [Walton] kind of forced me to stay in the gym and workout every day. We did a lot of repetition things to get better. He helped me get more comfortable out there."

With the loss of key players at multiple positions from a year ago, Schilling and company have been asked to step up and fulfill a new set of expectations.

"A.P. [Payne] was definitely a big part of our team last year but Matt [Costello] and I can definitely get the job done this year," said Schilling. "I think as long as we play to our potential we will contribute to an already great team."

With Schilling's short term goal of stepping into a more prominent role in front of him, the sophomore also isn't shy in voicing his long-term goals for the program.

"I want to win championships here," said Schilling. "That's why you come to Michigan State is to play for championships and get to Final Fours. We have the team to do it, we just need to keep working hard and execute."

For someone who has spent traveling the world and moving from place to place, Gavin Schilling has clearly found a home at Michigan State.