GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former Michigan State Spartan and Grand Rapids native Xavier Tillman Sr. is back in his hometown this week hosting his second annual “Tillman Elite” basketball camp. The camp ran from Monday to Thursday of this week and was available for kids in third grade through 11th grade.
The Grand Rapids Christian High School graduate has seen his camp grow tremendously from its creation. In Year 1, the camp had around a total of 100 campers. This year, Tillman estimates around 60 additional kids signed up.
Tillman always had hopes to play in the NBA. When he got the call from the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round of the 2020 NBA Draft, he knew he wanted to give back to his hometown community.
Growing up in Grand Rapids, Tillman attended his fair share of camps including the Ken George and Kyle Visser basketball camps. He says those camps helped shaped his life and his basketball dreams.
Tillman hopes the impact he leaves with these kids’ lives will do the same as George and Visser’s camps did for him.
“It's a ton of fun, for sure,” Tillman said. “These kids help bring me down to earth and keep me humble. I just love the energy. The energy is great when they see me. They love to compete. They love to hoop so it's all good. It means everything. To give them a chance to have another outlet to give people another opportunity to be hands-on with me and aspire to be in the NBA and know that it's obtainable by seeing me interact with them day in and day out.”
Tillman says if anyone was not able to attend his camp this year, he hopes they come back next year. He is shooting for next year’s camp to be scheduled at the end of June in 2023.
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