Michigan State's Xavier Tillman submitted his name into the NBA Draft in March, then spent the next several months going back on forth on his final decision.
"I was flipping every two weeks. I was flip-flopping, ready to go back, ready to keep my name in the draft," Tillman told reporters on a Zoom call Wednesday. "Basically it was almost after every other interview. It would go really good and coach (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."
The feedback from NBA evaluators was varied. At first, Tillman was told there was close to a 20 percent that he'd go undrafted -- and he certainly wouldn't go before the second round. But his stock improved as the interviews continued, which is no surprise for anyone who knows him. Tillman, a husband and a father of two, is mature beyond his years.
As the Aug. 3 deadline neared, Tillman felt better and better about his chances of being drafted. Ultimately, it was a Tweet from Dick Vitale that convinced the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year that going pro was the right move.
After Vitale reported in mid-July that Tillman was likely to return to Michigan State, an NBA team contacted Tillman to tell him they were disappointed in the news.
"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,'" he said.
After three years at MSU, Tillman called it a 'bittersweet' moment.
“That's a place that really helped me change and develop into the man I am today," he said. "Obviously that's cliché, but I came in as that chubby 18-year-old who people are like, ‘Yeah, he's gonna have a great four-year career and be the definition of Spartan basketball.’ Then Coach Izzo turned me into a monster, to where now they're like, ‘He is the definition of Michigan State basketball, and he made it to the next level.’
“So I'm forever indebted to that place, especially 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. I was like, ‘Man, this place is diehard. They care about you regardless and they want you to be successful.’ I really appreciated that.”