Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Donnie Tillman transferring from UNLV after one season

UNLV v. Fresno State

Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

UNLV Rebels forward Donnie Tillman (2) celebrates after UNLV pulled ahead on a last second basket during their NCAA Mountain West Conference basketball game against the Fresno State Bulldogs Saturday, February 8, 2020, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. UNLV won the game 68-67 to end a four-game losing streak.

Donnie Tillman’s commitment to UNLV last summer was heralded as one of the most important developments of T.J. Otzelberger’s first offseason at the helm. Tillman was widely viewed as a top talent and a good style fit coming off a 2018-19 campaign that saw him claim the Pac-12’s Sixth Man of the Year award as a sophomore at Utah.

His short time as a Runnin’ Rebel did not live up to the hype.

On Wednesday, after a stint at UNLV that could only be categorized as disappointing for both player and team, Tillman put his name in the NCAA transfer portal.

At this time last year, Tillman was exploring his options in regards to the NBA Draft. Instead the 6-foot-8 forward transferred to UNLV, and sources said he intended to play one year in Las Vegas before turning pro. But after a troubling 2019-20 season on and off the court, Tillman will move on to his third college in as many years.

Problems arose early for Tillman, a Michigan native who played his high school ball at Findlay Prep. He was chronically late for team events — a source said there were more than 10 instances of tardiness — and he was eventually disciplined by being yanked from the starting lineup for UNLV’s game at Cincinnati on Nov. 30.

Tillman ended up starting just 11 games and averaging 26.2 minutes per contest. His play on the court waned as well. After scoring 10.5 points per game as a sophomore at Utah, Tillman dipped to 10.1 per game at UNLV. He struggled to finish around the basket and saw his shooting percentage drop from 43.9 percent to 37.5 percent. His 3-point touch also disappeared, as he went from 36.1 percent at Utah to 29.2 percent with the Rebels.

A knee injury knocked him out for the final two weeks of the regular season, but Tillman was able to rehab in time to be cleared for action in the Mountain West tournament. By that point in the season Otzelberger had already moved on, however, and Tillman never got off the bench in UNLV’s season-ending loss to Boise State.

With Tillman’s departure UNLV now has 14 scholarship players slated for next season. The NCAA limits teams to 13 scholarships, so Otzelberger will need to make one more roster move before the season in order to get the Rebels under the limit.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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