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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga’s Tillie, Hachimura take games to U19 World Cup

Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura glides through the air and dunks during practice at the Final Four. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura glides through the air and dunks during practice at the Final Four. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Gonzaga basketball recruiting spans the globe and that will be on display in Cairo, Egypt, from July 1-9.

The rosters at the FIBA U19 World Cup include two GU sophomore forwards. Killian Tillie and his French teammates are considered title contenders. Rui Hachimura leads a Japanese team gradually making inroads at international tournaments.

They join a long list of Gonzaga international players who have returned to the native countries for summer basketball on the world stage. In recent years, Przemek Karnowski (Poland) and Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania) were on their respective age-group and national teams. Kyle Wiltjer, who has dual citizenship, played for Canada in the Pan Am Games.

“It’s a really good measuring stick for them,” Zags assistant coach Tommy Lloyd said. “They play real games, meaningful games and there’s a ton of emotion behind each game when you’re playing for your national team.”

Tillie, a 6-foot-10 forward, has enjoyed great success with French national teams. In 2014, he was named MVP as France won the FIBA U16 European Championship.

France won the 2016 FIBA U18 European tournament, rescheduled from summer to December becaues of unrest in host nation Turkey, while Tillie was busy helping Gonzaga reach its first Final Four.

Tillie and current U19 teammates Bathiste Tchouaffe and Jules Rambaut helped France place third in the 2015 FIBA 3-on-3 U18 World Cup. France outlasted the U.S. and Zach Collins 20-18 along the way.

The U19 World Cup “is a big championship,” Tillie told FIBA.com. “I really want to be part of it with this amazing team, this amazing generation for France.”

Tillie averaged 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game last season for Gonzaga.

Hachimura saw fewer minutes, 4.6 per game, but often demonstrated his athleticism and potential. The 6-8, 225-pounder could be a key member of the rotation next season.

“People on the outside don’t understand the scope of his talent and don’t understand the growth that took place,” Lloyd said. “He had heard of the Final Four but didn’t know what it was. He really improved his English and improved as a student, and he made huge jumps in basketball.”

Hachimura hit 4 of 6 3-pointers and scored 35 points in a 19-point loss to Germany in a recent exhibition game leading up to the World Cup. He scored 25 points in a blowout loss to the U.S. at the 2014 FIBA U17 World championships. The U.S. squad featured several players recently taken in the first round of the NBA Draft.

“You get a lot of experience,” Karnowski said. “Playing against tough competition in Europe gives you a lot more than working out 1-on-zero in the gym. You don’t have that break for 5-6 months.”

France opens Saturday against Argentina in Group A while Japan meets Spain in Group C.

“They get immersed in our system with weightlifting, practice and style of play, and when they’re young it’s hard to notice the growth over the course of the season,” Lloyd said. “When they go back and play with their former teams and kids they grew up with, they really see the progress they made when they were gone.”