Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman Remains in NBA Draft
It's official.
Michigan State basketball will replace Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman Sr. in the same year following his decision to remain in the 2020 NBA Draft Sunday afternoon.
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— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) August 2, 2020
-Xavier Tillman Sr. pic.twitter.com/D8DoCSEfWr
Tillman released a statement saying, "To Spartan Nation, We have had an amazing ride for three record-breaking years, winning three Big Ten Championships, a Big Ten Tourney Championship and going to the Final Four.
"To My Brothers: Fellas y'all know how I feel about y'all already, X wouldn't be X without the One Game at a Time group chat members.
"To My Coaches: Thank you for helping me learn to LOVE the art of film watching and develop into a vocal leader on the hardwood.
"Coach Izz: The fact that I became a trusted and respected leader in your program is the ultimate compliment. I can't thank you enough!
"Based on the feedback I've received from NBA teams, I am excited to announce my intention to hire an agent and to pursue one of my lifelong dreams. I will keep my name in the 2020 NBA Draft."
Tom Izzo says he is "thrilled for Xavier and am very excited for the opportunities ahead of him. We knew that this was a very real possibility for him, but that it was going to be a difficult decision with everything going on in the world today."
Spartan Nation has reported on multiple NBA mock drafts. The majority had Tillman being a late first-round pick.
"Xavier has been an excellent player and an even better person for Michigan State Basketball. He came here as a young man with a great upside and has developed into one of the best college basketball players in the country," said Izzo.
In his final season at Michigan State, Tillman won the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award and earned Second-team All-Big Ten honors.
He averaged 13.7 points, 10.3 rebounds (the most on his team and top-3 in the Big Ten), 2.1 blocks, and 3.0 assists per game.
"There's no one who deserves this opportunity more than Xavier, and we will be here to support him in any way that we can," Izzo said.
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