Donnie Tillman to return to Utah after testing NBA waters

One of the central pieces of the Utah basketball team will be back for this upcoming season, as Donnie Tillman pulled his name out of the NBA Draft pool. Similar to Sedrick Barefield last season, Tillman tested the NBA waters to see what NBA teams would tell him about his draft potential, and what he needs to work on going forward. For any player that has a dream of moving on to the next level it’s a smart move. Not surprisingly, Tillman is returning to school and will be a junior for this upcoming season. He, along with Timmy Allen, Both Gach, and some youngsters will be the anchors of the Utah program. Allen has shown his ability to play around the basket and stretched his game out to the three point line this past season. He still has a long ways to go for the NBA, and he does have a skillset that should interest scouts, but he has to keep refining his game. I’m excited to have him back for this coming season, and really want to see what he does as one of the primary guys this season.

Here’s the full release from the Utah SID on Tillman’s return.

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah sophomore Donnie Tillman has announced his decision to return to the U for his junior season. After going through the NBA Draft process, the 6-7 forward opted to return to the Runnin’ Utes in 2019-20.

The second-year forward averaged a career-best 10.3 points per game, pulled down 5.3 rebounds and totaled 43 three-pointers made for the Utes this past season. Following the conclusion of the 2018-19 regular season, Tillman was tabbed the Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year

In addition to his scoring average, Tillman also set new career-highs with a .371 three-point shooting percentage, .783 free throw percentage, 10 blocked shots and 18 steals – all while starting in just 14 of 30 games he played in this past season.