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Our sister site over at HoopsHype has been doing some amazing work leading up to Wednesday’s NBA Draft. Recently, Bryan Kalbrosky had the opportunity to interview Michigan State Basketball alumnus Xavier Tillman about his pre-draft process, fatherhood, and what he wants to do after his playing career is over.
You can read the full interview here (and you absolutely should go read the whole thing, because it’s long and a tremendous read), but we’ll put together some of his best quotes from the interview below.
On the season ending early when MSU looked like a real contender:
I was devastated. But I was proud at the same time. I was devastated at first because I knew our potential and I know if we had just gotten the opportunity, we would have made the most out of it. Especially after getting the opportunity to go to the Final Four my sophomore year, I was like: ‘Okay, now I know about the atmosphere’ and everything to be mentally prepared and I’m ready to go.’ But then I was proud at the same time, especially for the young guys who worked their butt off. Mentally, the game was still going by fast. By the time the season happened, everybody felt like we were playing in slow motion. The freshmen were all playing well and they were confident as well. I’m proud of those guys for being able to pull through a tough, grueling season. They showed they were ready to compete for a Final Four. Like I said earlier, it’s devastating that they didn’t get those opportunities I did.
On finishing his career on a streak of four huge wins against ranked opponents:
It meant everything to me to win against the highest competition. I never like to back down, ever, no matter who I’m playing against. For example, if I am going against a top-ranked player, those are the games I want to see what I can do against them. I’m going to give it my all, play as hard as I can, play as smart as I can. I want to see if you’re worthy of the hype or not. So that is something that I took pride in, going against those top guys and getting the opportunity to play against the top guys to finish the season. I was able to guard guys like Lamar Stevens, who had First Team All-Big 10, All-American numbers. I went against guys like Kaleb Wesson, who is probably the best back to basket scorer in the Big 10. I could guard guys like Jalen Smith, who would stretch the floor and is very versatile. So be able to finish out the season guarding the best guys and come out with wins was definitely amazing for me.
On his strengths as a defender:
The first thing that I would say is that I am vocal and I am an anchor on defense. I am the guy who is calling out all the screens on the back end, calling out all the coverages. I’m the guy who watches a lot of film and I call the plays out as soon as they come out. I help my teammates navigate through all of them. Getting everybody on board, that’s what I’m good at.
On playing with Cassius Winston:
I felt like I was cheating the game. [Laughs] I had a guy where I didn’t have to look at him and he didn’t have to look at me and he would still throw me the ball. He would still make the pass to me. His IQ was unreal. He had this swagger about him where he wasn’t just a pass-first point guard, don’t get it twisted, he could get a bucket by himself. At the same time, he knows what it takes to win. He’s able to get guys going. For me, if I’m rim running, he’s able to just throw that lob and get easy buckets. Coming off a screen, he will just throw the pocket pass and say: ‘Hey, now you have to create. I can come down and get it all day. But if we’re going to win this game, I got to have some air. I got to let you make some plays.’ That’s how he developed me.
On who he compares himself to at the pro level:
I would say Draymond Green, Montrezl Harrell and Bam Adebayo all come to mind. Those are the guys who kind of really play in that situation and they start to make things happen. Grant Williams is getting more playing time with the Celtics. Those four guys are really guys I can base my game around and do similar things that they can do.
On how his daughter helped him become a better player:
My daughter helped me become a more disciplined man. I had her when I was a senior in high school. She was born in December, right before the season started. I had her and she just helped me lock in more to where I wasn’t tempted in high school. I was more focused on my schoolwork. I want to tell her there are not a lot of obstacles that can stop her if she puts her mind to things. She’s definitely made me more disciplined. When she is older, she will be like ‘why are you so hard on me?’ Because I want the best for her.
Here is the link to the rest of the interview, which is long and wide-ranging, and really a must-read for Spartan fans.
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