Tom Izzo and the MSU basketball team were within reach of a third-straight Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award winner, but couldn’t fully secure it as Kalamazoo Central senior Isaiah Livers took home the award, the Detroit Free Press announced Monday.
After being a finalist for the award, MSU class of 2017 signee Xavier Tillman finished with 2,739 votes, only trailing Liver’s 2,811. Tillman, however, had more first-place votes than Liver with 363, but the 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward received more second and third place votes than Tillman.
Each year, the award is sponsored by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, in association with the Detroit Free Press, and is given to Michigan’s top prep senior.
As Tillman was unable to win the award, it breaks a streak of two-straight Spartan signee award winners as Deyonta Davis and current Spartan guard Cassius Winston won the award in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Tillman, a 6-foot-8 power forward, made his commitment to the Spartans on Sept. 30, 2016 before signing his letter of intent on Nov. 9, 2016.
A senior at Grand Rapids Christian, Tillman is listed as a four-star recruit by 247Sports composite. The Michigan native is ranked No. 86 in the class of 2017, No. 18 by position and is the No. 1 recruit in the state of Michigan.
Despite not winning the award, Tillman's commitment to MSU joins power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. as the two incoming recruits to join the 2017-18 team.
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