The Raptors Were One of the First Teams to Interview Xavier Tillman

The Toronto Raptors were one of the first NBA team's to do a pre-draft interview with Michigan State's Xavier Tillman

As the Toronto Raptors get set for next week's 2020 NBA Draft the name Xavier Tillman keeps popping up and it's pretty understandable why.

The 21-year-old Michigan State product checks almost all the boxes for the Raptors. He's a 6-foot-8 centre who could fill a need for Toronto with Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka both heading into unrestricted free agency this offseason. On the court, he fits the Raptors mould as a high IQ player who prides himself on being a defensive difference-maker.

When Tillman first arrived on Michigan State's campus in 2017, he was an unheralded prospect out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, joining a small class headlined by Jaren Jackson Jr. He hardly played in his freshman season, averaging just 8.7 minutes a game for the Big Ten's top-ranked Spartans. The following season, he found his way into the starting lineup in the second half of the year, averaging 10 points in 24 minutes a game as a sophomore. Then, in his junior season, he broke out, taking his game to another level on the defensive side of the ball, earning the Big Ten coaches' Defensive Player of the Year award to go with second-team All-Big Ten honours.

So it's no wonder the Raptors were one of the first teams to reach out to Tillman when he entered his name into 2020 draft consideration. 

"That was one of the better interviews that I’ve had," Tillman said. "It was pretty cool."

There are, however, a few concerns with Tillman's game. Even with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, he's a little undersized as an NBA centre. He's strong and sturdy with plenty of athleticism to defend the paint, but even in today's smallball era 6-foot-8 is a little on the shorter side in the paint. Then there's his shooting. Last season he shot just 26% from 3-point range on 1.4 3s a game and 66.7% from the free-throw line. In a league that increasingly requires bigs to shoot from outside, those are concerning numbers.

"I think those are the things that hinder teams from putting me in the lottery," Tillman said.

But Tillman is well aware of those concerns and he's spent much of the past few months trying to work on his shooting.

The results have been clear.

During the NBA Combine earlier this month, he shot 35-for-50 (70%) from 3-point range on spot-ups, 21-for-30 (70%) on off-the-dribble 3s, 15-for-20 (75%) on mid-range shots, 43-for-72 (59.7%) in the 3-point endurance drill, and 83% from the free-throw line. And he wasn't even that impressed with himself.

"I know what I'm capable of based on the work that I put in," he said. "It felt like I could have done better in a couple of them."

It's that mindset that makes Tillman such an interesting prospect for the Raptors. He fits the bill as a defence-first player who knows his offence will come along eventually within Toronto's developmental program.

"I think I could do the same thing [as Fred VanVleet]," Tillman said. "I can come in, bring my defence, my IQ, my passing ability, my finishing ability right away, and then offensively, it’ll come with all the work that I’ll put in."

And it shouldn't be too long before it does. Tillman is accustomed to playing alongside some pretty talented guards, most notably Michigan State's Cassius Winston, one of the savviest point guards in all of college basketball. So playing alongside someone like Kyle Lowry shouldn't be too unusual for Tillman. 

"I learned that I’ve always gotta have my eyes up, because he's good at throwing those passes when nobody expects him to pass it," Tillman said of Winston. "And then I also learned when you play with guys who make the right play 10 out of 10 times, you need to get them open, so I take screening so serious when I screen for him because I know if I get him open either we're gonna get a bucket or the shot is gonna be wide open because he's just gonna make the right read."

Between Tillman's offensive intangibles and defensive ability, he has all the makings of a successful Raptors player. He has already been to Toronto once before and he said he had a wonderful time in the city with his wife, Tamia. There was just one small thing they couldn't quite wrap their heads around.

"I went to go buy some milk and it was in like a plastic bag and I was like what is this? I was so confused," Tillman joked. "I had to YouTube how to figure it out."