Report: Junior Killian Tillie Returning to Gonzaga After Declaring for NBA Draft

Although Gonzaga will lose Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura to the 2019 NBA draft, the men's basketball team will reportedly get a big boost with the return of forward Killian Tillie.

Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported the news Tuesday with a breakdown of what it could mean for Tillie:

Tillie missed much of last season due to a foot injury, appearing in only 15 games. When he was on the court, he took a backseat to Clarke and Hachimura and averaged 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game.

The prior year, Tillie showed he can be an impact player.

The 6'10" forward averaged 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore, making a positive impact on both ends of the court. Perhaps most impressively, he has made 47 percent of his three-point attempts during his three years at Gonzaga.

His outside shooting ability combined with his height could make him an ideal stretch big man in the NBA. While he needs to improve his shot-blocking ability, Tillie can be a useful weapon in the meantime.

Unfortunately, he suffered a sprained ankle in workouts and missed the NBA Draft Combine, hurting his opportunity to potentially raise his stock in front of scouts.

Goodman previously reported Tillie's decision to return to school could "go either way," but it now seems as though he will play one more year with the Bulldogs.

Although Gonzaga will have to replace a lot of talent going into next season, Tillie, Filip Petrusev and Corey Kispert could form a quality frontcourt in 2019-20.