Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Tillman Ready for Next Step, Reflects on his Time at MSU
8/24/2020 4:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – Former Michigan State men's basketball player Xavier Tillman Sr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) has always lived life with a marked determination.
When he arrived in East Lansing in 2017, he had the responsibilities of being a father, diving into his school work and becoming the best basketball player he could.
In three years at Michigan State, Tillman added the duties of husband, to his wife Tamia, after they were married in 2019. The couple welcomed a son, Xavier Jr., in February. And Tillman Sr. was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as the Spartans won a share of the Big Ten regular season title for the third-straight year.
Named an Academic All-American for his performance in the classroom during the 2019-20 season, Tillman declared for the NBA Draft after the season came to a finish due to the coronavirus pandemic and he made his intentions to stay in the draft permanent in early August.
One thing that wasn't finished, however, was Tillman's degree, in communication. And he finished that on Aug. 13, wrapping up the last of the six classes he took over the summer in order to finish up school.
"I'm so excited," Tillman Sr. said after he had officially graduated. "I took six classes over the summer so I could finish up and I am very proud to say that I did it and that I graduated in three years. I know my wife and my mother were very proud of me and I know this is something I want my kids to see and know that they can do it too."
When he decided to put his name in for the NBA Draft in March, he wasn't sure if he would definitely go, but wanted to get feedback to see where he stood. And after going through interviews and the process, he felt confident to go ahead.
"I came to the final decision a couple of days before I announced," Tillman said. "But I was flipping every two weeks. I was flip-flopping, ready to go back, ready to keep my name in. Basically, it was almost after every other interview. It would go really good and coach (Tom Izzo) would get some great feedback, and I'd think, 'OK, I think I'm out.'
"And then you'd go back into it and you can't just jump on one interview, you've got to actually listen to the rest of them and see what kind of feedback we can get. Then the same thing happens again, so I definitely flip-flopped a lot until I got to the point where I was like, 'Look, I have a lot of interest and I've just got to jump in and trust my work."
His work as a junior in 2019-20 was pretty impressive. Tillman, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a second team All-Big Ten honoree, was selected to the 2019-20 Academic All-America® Second Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in March. He finished second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg), led the team in rebounds (10.3, third in the Big Ten) and blocked shots (2.1 bpg) and was third on the team in assists (3.0 apg).
He was the only Division I player averaging at least 13.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocked shots during the 2019-20 season. Tillman was also the only Division I player since 1992-93 to reach those numbers, joining Tim Duncan at Wake Forest in 1996-97 and Bo Outlaw in 1992-93 at Houston.
One of the hardest parts for Tillman was to see the season cut short, just as he felt the Spartans were starting to come in to their own.
"When it first happened I was devastated, simply because we started to pick up heat as a team," Tillman said. "I was like, 'Okay we're gonna make our run now, everybody's playing good, Malik's turning more into that four-man for us. He was the guy who was really getting a lot of minutes at the four, so now we kinda know everybody's role and stuff like that."
While he's also continued to work out as he has gone through interviews with NBA teams, Tillman has also had the opportunity to spend time at home.
"These months of being with my family, I've learned a lot about my family to be honest with you," Tillman said. "When I had Yanni, she stayed with Tamia for the first month or two, over at this house while I was staying at my mom's house and I would just come after school. With my son now, I was waking up in the morning like, 'Yo, is this what it was like? I don't remember this and she was like yeah, 'Cause you weren't here.' It definitely opened my eyes to how parenting really is and stuff like that.
"And it's been great getting to actually watch him develop and watch him grow and then getting to see my daughter and interact with her and take her outside when it's not burning hot outside and just play with her. We started to do home-schooling, stuff that we can work on with her."
Tillman looks back on the three years he spent at State fondly. As he said, an 18-year-old "chubby" kid came to East Lansing and Head Coach Tom Izzo and the Spartans staff helped turn him into a "monster," a player who will have a chance to play at the next level.
More than anything, however, Tillman knows that his time at MSU and with the basketball program helped make him ready for this next step.
"That's a place that really helped me change and develop into a man, into really who I am today, honestly," Tillman said. "I'm forever indebted to that place, especially just the people. And not just my teammates and the coaches, but the fans, the students. I'd be walking to class giving people high fives after winning or losing a game and was like, 'Man, this place is diehard.'
"The care about you regardless and they want you to be successful. I really appreciated that."
When he arrived in East Lansing in 2017, he had the responsibilities of being a father, diving into his school work and becoming the best basketball player he could.
In three years at Michigan State, Tillman added the duties of husband, to his wife Tamia, after they were married in 2019. The couple welcomed a son, Xavier Jr., in February. And Tillman Sr. was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year as the Spartans won a share of the Big Ten regular season title for the third-straight year.
Named an Academic All-American for his performance in the classroom during the 2019-20 season, Tillman declared for the NBA Draft after the season came to a finish due to the coronavirus pandemic and he made his intentions to stay in the draft permanent in early August.
One thing that wasn't finished, however, was Tillman's degree, in communication. And he finished that on Aug. 13, wrapping up the last of the six classes he took over the summer in order to finish up school.
"I'm so excited," Tillman Sr. said after he had officially graduated. "I took six classes over the summer so I could finish up and I am very proud to say that I did it and that I graduated in three years. I know my wife and my mother were very proud of me and I know this is something I want my kids to see and know that they can do it too."
When he decided to put his name in for the NBA Draft in March, he wasn't sure if he would definitely go, but wanted to get feedback to see where he stood. And after going through interviews and the process, he felt confident to go ahead.
"I came to the final decision a couple of days before I announced," Tillman said. "But I was flipping every two weeks. I was flip-flopping, ready to go back, ready to keep my name in. Basically, it was almost after every other interview. It would go really good and coach (Tom Izzo) would get some great feedback, and I'd think, 'OK, I think I'm out.'
"And then you'd go back into it and you can't just jump on one interview, you've got to actually listen to the rest of them and see what kind of feedback we can get. Then the same thing happens again, so I definitely flip-flopped a lot until I got to the point where I was like, 'Look, I have a lot of interest and I've just got to jump in and trust my work."
His work as a junior in 2019-20 was pretty impressive. Tillman, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and a second team All-Big Ten honoree, was selected to the 2019-20 Academic All-America® Second Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in March. He finished second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg), led the team in rebounds (10.3, third in the Big Ten) and blocked shots (2.1 bpg) and was third on the team in assists (3.0 apg).
He was the only Division I player averaging at least 13.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocked shots during the 2019-20 season. Tillman was also the only Division I player since 1992-93 to reach those numbers, joining Tim Duncan at Wake Forest in 1996-97 and Bo Outlaw in 1992-93 at Houston.
One of the hardest parts for Tillman was to see the season cut short, just as he felt the Spartans were starting to come in to their own.
"When it first happened I was devastated, simply because we started to pick up heat as a team," Tillman said. "I was like, 'Okay we're gonna make our run now, everybody's playing good, Malik's turning more into that four-man for us. He was the guy who was really getting a lot of minutes at the four, so now we kinda know everybody's role and stuff like that."
While he's also continued to work out as he has gone through interviews with NBA teams, Tillman has also had the opportunity to spend time at home.
"These months of being with my family, I've learned a lot about my family to be honest with you," Tillman said. "When I had Yanni, she stayed with Tamia for the first month or two, over at this house while I was staying at my mom's house and I would just come after school. With my son now, I was waking up in the morning like, 'Yo, is this what it was like? I don't remember this and she was like yeah, 'Cause you weren't here.' It definitely opened my eyes to how parenting really is and stuff like that.
"And it's been great getting to actually watch him develop and watch him grow and then getting to see my daughter and interact with her and take her outside when it's not burning hot outside and just play with her. We started to do home-schooling, stuff that we can work on with her."
Tillman looks back on the three years he spent at State fondly. As he said, an 18-year-old "chubby" kid came to East Lansing and Head Coach Tom Izzo and the Spartans staff helped turn him into a "monster," a player who will have a chance to play at the next level.
More than anything, however, Tillman knows that his time at MSU and with the basketball program helped make him ready for this next step.
"That's a place that really helped me change and develop into a man, into really who I am today, honestly," Tillman said. "I'm forever indebted to that place, especially just the people. And not just my teammates and the coaches, but the fans, the students. I'd be walking to class giving people high fives after winning or losing a game and was like, 'Man, this place is diehard.'
"The care about you regardless and they want you to be successful. I really appreciated that."
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