The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

The attention at the NBA draft is focused on this year's top prospects, but several players from the Michigan State Spartans said they continue to draw inspiration and mentorship from Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn.

Nairn's former Spartan teammates Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr said their former team captain was still very involved in the process.

Both Bridges and Jackson are expected to be lottery picks in tonight's NBA draft and said that Nairn has continued to be their leader off the court.

"Tum Tum, he's great, just keeping me level headed, he's always helped me out with everything. I don't think I'll ever meet another individual like Tum for sure."

Jackson added: "He helps us through anything. I reach out to Tum for anything I need. He's a great person, what he's doing right now is going to be crazy, he's done with school right now so he can do whatever he wants and I'm sure it will be amazing. He's the type of person you can depend on, you hit him up, he'll hit you right back."

Their final season as Spartans ended prematurely with an upset loss in the NCAA Tournament's round of 32 - a two point loss to Syracuse.

Nairn, who was a member of the 2015 Final Four team as a freshman, offered words of insight in the locker room following the loss to place the game in perspective.

Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has always heralded Nairn's leadership abilities as something that could not be simply measured on a stat sheet.

He awarded Nairn the title of team captain for three consecutive years and often called him an extension of the coaches on the floor.

Nairn ended his Spartan career with averages of 1.7 points and 2.9 assists per game with 65 career starts.

He was awarded the Stephen G Scofes Inspirational Player Award this past offseason for the third straight year when the Spartans hosted its annual Men's Basketball Awards Banquet for the 2016-17 season.