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NBA Draft Preview: Winston to Toronto, Tillman to Minnesota, current Spartans talk draft night

November 18, 2020
<p>Xavier Tillman (23) high fives Cassius Winston (5) during the second half of the NCAA Final Four game against Texas Tech at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on April 6, 2019. The Spartans lost to the Red Raiders 61-51.  (Nic Antaya/The State News)</p>

Xavier Tillman (23) high fives Cassius Winston (5) during the second half of the NCAA Final Four game against Texas Tech at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on April 6, 2019. The Spartans lost to the Red Raiders 61-51. (Nic Antaya/The State News)

Photo by Nic Antaya | The State News

Former Spartans Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman will await NBA Commissioner Adam Silver calling their name in the NBA draft tonight at 8 p.m.

Winston averaged 18.6 points along with 5.8 assists in his senior season, while the forward formerly setting his pick and releasing for a dunk, Tillman averaged 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds in his junior campaign.

Some mock drafts exclude both Winston and Tillman, while others, like CBS’s Mock Draft, feature Winston in the first round, going to Toronto at 29 overall. With Fred VanVleet being an unrestricted free agent, Toronto may look to fill that void with the best available point guard.

Cassius Winston would be that guy, according to CBS, and is a player I’ve often compared to VanVleet. He’s not going to blow by you with his athleticism, but efficient shooting from beyond the arc and ability to see the floor makes Winston a nice fit for Toronto, who’s other starting guard, Kyle Lowry, is also similar in playstyle.

It seems like some guys just look right in certain uniforms. It’s also somewhat fitting to me that he’s projected to Toronto because two unis that caught my eye in MSU basketball’s tweet were Philadelphia and Toronto.

Tillman is projected to go a few picks later to Minnesota at 33. He is an exceptional defensive forward, but his below-average shooting ability limits his ceiling in the eyes of modern basketball. Organizations willing to refine Tillman’s game on the opposite end of the floor will jump at his athleticism.

Rumors surfaced that as Dick Vitale tweeted that he would return to school, Tillman received indication from one, or multiple NBA teams, of their interest and elected to keep his name in the draft and forgo his senior year.

MSU teammates sound off on Winston, Tillman, NBA Draft

Winston and Tillman were staples of the Spartan lineup for most of their four years, both left the school with a final four appearance and three Big Ten titles.

For their teammates, to say the pair will be sorely missed may be an understatement. But for MSU forward Gabe Brown — the euphoria of the draft night is big, but when he speaks with the pair of NBA Draft hopefuls, it's not about the game.

"I talk to Cash (Cassius Winston) a lot, as you can see on their Instagram you can see they're working hard," Brown said. "I talk to X (Tillman) a lot, me and X stay cordial but I don't really even ask them about basketball. Because basketball's not one thing that decides everything your future or decides your family. I ask about their family, about how everything's going with their mom, dad, kids, stuff like that. I really want to know about that then the basketball side ... outside the NBA, I been staying in touch with them and I hope they get drafted tonight."

"I just really want to see them up there (on stage), that's one of the great experiences you can go through in life. For them just to be drafted, I'm gonna be happy."

He and MSU forward Thomas Kithier both are pulling for the two, without question. Kithier said that some of the team will likely gather to watch most of the draft together.

Kithier, personally as a Detroit-area native, wants to see his old friends playing for the Pistons.

"Obviously, me growing up in the Detroit area I would love to see one of those two go to the Pistons," Kithier said. "But I'm not sure that'll happen but I think it would be kind of cool for one of them to go out to LA to join LeBron ... (but) honestly I'm just happy for both of them, you know, playing with them for the past two years, just to see them get drafted tonight."

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