Killian_Tillie

Killian Tillie

Killian Tillie

French basketball player

Killian Wiard Tillie (born 5 March 1998) is a French professional basketball player who last played for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Tillie joined Gonzaga University beginning in the 2016–17 season.[1]

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Youth career

Tillie played basketball and volleyball until the age of 14, before choosing to focus on basketball. He started his basketball career in the youth setup at Cagnes Basket, when he was six years of age. He then moved to Stade Laurentin Basket, before joining the youth academy of Olympique d'Antibes in 2013.[2] Prior to the 2014–15 season, he joined the INSEP academy.[3]

Recruiting

"Killian is a dynamic athlete that will end up being a very good faceup-type four. Once we get him in the weight room and work on his strength, he’ll be a very good player at the highest level."

— Mark Few, Gonzaga Head Coach.[4]

"We expect him to contribute right away, if his health is under control with some knee issues. He is one of those really interesting guys. He has incredible instincts. It's probably hard to pinpoint his strengths, but he doesn’t really have a weakness either. He has tremendous upside, and we think his potential is off the charts."

— Tommy Lloyd, Gonzaga Associate Head Coach.[5]

In January 2015, Tillie was highlighted by ESPN among five of the best international players in the 2015 and 2016 classes with aspirations to play college basketball. He was drawing major interest from California at the time, and scouts were impressed with his terrific offensive rebounding, athleticism and high motor.[6]

In August 2015, Tillie traveled to the United States and took official visits to Georgia Tech, Utah, and Gonzaga.[7] Less than a week after his trip to Spokane, he verbally to committed to play college basketball at Gonzaga University, citing the Zags' "success with international players and because of the people that love basketball there."[1] He signed with the Zags in the early signing period in November 2015.[4]

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College career

He made his first appearance in a Gonzaga jersey on November 5, 2016, when scoring four points to go along with four rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals in twelve minutes of play against West Georgia.[8] As a freshman during the 2016–17 season, Tillie appeared in 33 games, averaging 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.3 minutes.[9] He saw 14 minutes of action in the NCAA championship game against North Carolina, pulling down nine rebounds and scoring one point.[10]

As a sophomore in 2017–18, Tillie was Gonzaga’s second leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points in 26.2 minutes per game to go along with 5.9 rebounds and 1 blocked shot per contest.[11]

Coming into his junior season, Tillie was named to the Preseason All-WCC Team.[12] On October 30, 2018, it was announced that Tillie was to miss approximately eight weeks with a stress fracture on his ankle.[13]

Tillie missed the beginning of his senior season recovering from a knee injury. He returned to the lineup on November 19, 2019, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds as Gonzaga held off Texas-Arlington 72–66.[14] On January 30, 2020, Tillie left a game against Santa Clara in the first half after suffering an ankle injury.[15] At the conclusion of the regular season, Tillie was named to the First Team All-WCC.[16] He averaged 13.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game as a senior.[17]

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2020–2022)

After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft, he signed a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.[17] On November 24, 2020, the Memphis Grizzlies officially announced the signing of Tillie.[18]

On August 12, 2021, Tillie signed a second two-way contract with the Grizzlies.[19] On January 1, 2022, he was signed to a two-year standard contract.[20]

The Grizzlies waived Tillie on October 15, 2022, before the start of the 2022–23 season.[21][22]

National team career

Tillie helped the French Under-16 National Team win the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, averaging 14.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.2 blocked shots and 1.2 steals a contest, while being recognized as the tournament's MVP.[23] He dropped in 25 points and grabbed 18 boards, in the title game, a 78–53 win over hosting Latvia.[24]

In the summer of 2015, Tillie competed in the FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Championships, where he teamed up with Bathiste Tchouaffe, Jules Rambaut, and Timothe Vergiat and he represented France at the 2015 World Championship, in Debrecen, Hungary, where they finished in third place, with an 8–1 record. His team defeated USA, featuring fellow Gonzaga commit Zach Collins, in the quarter-finals, before losing to Argentina in the semifinals, and thumping Spain in the third-place game.[25][26]

He competed for France at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 World Cup, averaging team-bests of 12.4 points and 8.7 rebounds a contest.[27]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

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College

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Personal life

He is the son of Laurent Tillie, a former professional volleyball player and coach of the French national team, and Caroline Keulen-Tillie, a former professional volleyball player from the Netherlands. Killian’s brothers are also professional athletes: Kim Tillie plays basketball, Kevin Tillie plays volleyball.

References

  1. [1]
    "French forward Killian Tillie commits to Gonzaga". August 29, 2015.
  2. [2]
    umdf. "Killian Tillie : nouvelle pépite du basket français". SportsSpirit. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  3. [3]
    "Basket-Ball : un Tillie en cache toujours un autre". www.paris-normandie.fr. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Gonzaga MBB Inks Four to NLI in Early Signing Period". November 20, 2015. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  5. [5]
    "Next international wave will set up Zags for a while, says GU's Lloyd". December 9, 2015.
  6. [6]
    "The next wave of international prospects". January 31, 2015.
  7. [7]
    "Top French forward, 6-8 Killian Tillie, is on his visit to Georgia Tech, followed by trips to Utah and Gonzaga. Brother of former Ute, Kim". August 17, 2015.
  8. [8]
    "West Georgia vs Gonzaga". gozags.com. Gonzaga University. November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  9. [9]
    "Season Box Score". gozags.com. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  10. [10]
    "Gonzaga vs North Carolina (04/03/17 at Univ of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ), Official Basketball Box Score". gozags.com. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  11. [11]
    "2017-18 Gonzaga Men's Basketball Season Box Score". gozags.com. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  12. [12]
    "Gonzaga picked to Win 2018-19 Men's Basketball Championship". West Coast Conference. October 18, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  13. [13]
    Johnson, Raphielle (October 30, 2018). "Stress fracture to sideline Gonzaga C Killian Tillie eight weeks". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  14. [14]
    "Woolridge leads No. 8 Gonzaga over Texas-Arlington 72–66". ESPN. Associated Press. November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  15. [15]
    Meehan, Jim (January 30, 2020). "Gonzaga forward Killian Tillie exits Santa Clara game with first-half ankle injury". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  16. [16]
    "WCC Announces 2019-20 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  17. [17]
    Meehan, Jim (November 18, 2020). "Sources: Former Gonzaga forward Killian Tillie signing two-way deal with Memphis after going undrafted". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  18. [18]
    "Grizzlies sign Killian Tillie and Sean McDermott to two-way contracts". NBA.com. November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  19. [19]
    "Grizzlies sign Killian Tillie to two-way contract". NBA.com. August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  20. [20]
    "Memphis Grizzlies sign forward Killian Tillie to a two-year contract, waive Sam Merrill". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  21. [21]
    Hill, Drew (October 15, 2022). "Grizzlies waive Killian Tillie before start of season". Daily Memphian.
  22. [22]
    Meehan, Jim (October 15, 2022). "Former Gonzaga forward Killian Tillie waived by Memphis Grizzlies". The Spokesman-Review.
  23. [23]
    "Tillie Towers Above The Competition | U16 Europe Championship Men - Division A". u16men.fibaeurope.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  24. [24]
    "Boxscore Final Latvia - France". fibaeurope.com. FIBA Europe. August 30, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  25. [25]
    "FIBA 3x3 Profile: Killian Tillie". Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  26. [26]
    "2015 France FIBA 3x3 U18 Team". Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  27. [27]
    "France at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2017 - FIBA.basketball". FIBA.basketball (in French). Retrieved July 9, 2017.
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