Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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MEN'S BASKETBALL RECRUITING The Irish hope they've maybe found their own, slightly shorter version of Meeks in 6-8, 260-pound junior Xavier Tillman of Grand Rapids (Mich.) Christian. The four-star forward has already visited the South Bend campus twice, including Oct. 15, 2015 for the Navy football game and March 5 for Notre Dame's 89-75 hoops win over North Carolina State. "Notre Dame is a good program," Tillman said. "They went to the Elite Eight a couple times recently. They've shown they know how to win, and against the big teams like the Dukes and North Carolinas. "The coaches let the players play. They let them make mistakes, and then make plays. It's a lot of freedom. It makes it so there's no pressure on me. If I make a mistake I can move on." Balanis went on an in-home visit with Tillman April 20, and the Irish maintained a heavy presence at his games with Spiece Indy Heat on Nike's EYBL circuit in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Indianapolis in April. "It was nice," Tillman said of Bala- nis' visit. "He's a good guy. He went to DeMatha High School. He tells me about his history because he wants to build a relationship, even if I decide not to go there. He said he liked my leadership and how vocal I was — just the intangibles. "It was cool because he said how I could really fit in their system, and how they'd run a lot of the offense through me. I'm not definite on a po- sition, but [Zach] Auguste who just came through there, I think I'd play his position." Tillman, the No. 78 overall player nationally in the class of 2017 accord- ing to Rivals, still lists his recruitment as wide open at this point. Among the schools involved are Marquette, Mich- igan, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Purdue and Xavier. The big man did say, however, that he could use one of his official visits to see Notre Dame in the future. ✦ V.J. Beachem Removes Name From NBA Draft Junior forward V.J. Beachem announced May 1 he had removed his name from the NBA Draft process and will come back to the Irish for his senior campaign. Beachem had released his decision to test the NBA Draft waters April 12, but given his draft stock at that stage it seemed likely the junior was taking advantage of new rules that allow prospects to return to school as long as they don't hire an agent. He was not listed among the estimated 70 individuals invited to this year's NBA Combine. "Thankful for the opportunity to experience the NBA Draft process and invites to workout for teams, but now I'm ready to lead @ndmbb. #IMBACK," he tweeted. The 6‑8, 200‑pound forward averaged 12.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game for the Irish last season, while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from behind the arc. — Jordan Wells