Freshman Devin Tillis emerging as closer for UNLV

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Ask a coach about his starting lineup and he’ll usually default to an old standard response: It’s not about who starts the games, it’s about who finishes them.

Devin Tillis is becoming an example of that for UNLV basketball.

Tillis, a freshman forward, has not started a single game this season, but he is coming on strong and now appears to be entrenched as a player who T.J. Otzelberger wants on the floor at the end of games. Tillis has been out there to the final whistle of UNLV’s last five games, and it seems like that trend is going to continue as Otzelberger pares his rotation with just six contests left in the regular season.

Tillis’ numbers aren’t anything amazing. The 6-foot-6 California native is averaging 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.8 minutes, but he possesses intangible qualities that Otzelberger seems to value.

“Devin is a very high IQ basketball player,” Otzelberger said. “He knows how the game is supposed to go.”

Tillis’ emergence as part of the trusted inner circle has been a process. He was on the floor for the final 3:38 against UNR on Jan. 31, a stretch during which the Wolf Pack outscored UNLV, 16-4. It was an out-and-out collapse for UNLV and the 72-62 loss capped a demoralizing sweep at the hands of UNR.

Sliding Tilling into the closing lineup worked much better at home against Air Force. In the first contest against AFA on Saturday, Tillis was on the floor for the final 9:15 (along with Caleb Grill, Bryce Hamilton, Nick Blake and Mbacke Diong, making Tillis the only non-starter in the finishing lineup). Over those nine minutes, UNLV outscored the Falcons 19-12 to seal a much-needed 68-58 victory.

A similar scenario played out in the second game against Air Force on Monday. Tillis entered the game with 7:13 remaining; UNLV outscored AFA, 20-17, to close the door on a 69-64 win.

Tillis didn’t put up big numbers in either victory: four points, three rebounds and two assists on Saturday and six points, six rebounds and three assists on Monday. Nonetheless, Otzelberger wanted him out there for his poise in clutch moments.

Otzelberger believes Tillis has a calming influence when games threaten to get hectic.

“Devin feels at times like he gives us some maturity,” Otzelberger said. “With our team not having a true point guard … he gives us somebody that understands game situations, somebody that’s a good communicator.”

Tillis made one of the best plays of the game on Monday when he posted up and whipped a no-look pass to Grill, who cut along the baseline behind the defense. Grill received the perfect pass and converted a layup while drawing an and-1 foul.

If UNLV finds itself in a toss-up against Boise State tonight, expect Tillis to be part of the lineup when things get tense.

It’s clear that Otzelberger has a ton of trust in his first-year player.

“He’s still a freshman and hasn’t logged a ton of meaningful minutes, but obviously you can tell by the minutes we’re playing him in key conference games, the level of confidence and belief I have in him.”

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