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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga’s Killian Tillie sprains ankle in first NBA workout

Gonzaga’s Killian Tillie speaks to the media on Selection Sunday in the McCarthey Athletic Center. (Libby Kamrowski / The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Killian Tillie’s injury woes returned in his first NBA workout.

Tillie, the Gonzaga junior forward who declared for the NBA draft last month, wasn’t able to finish his workout Friday for the Atlanta Hawks after spraining his left ankle.

Tillie downplayed the injury afterward, but he was limping and had his shoe off when he visited with several media members. He told Peachtreehoops.com writer Brad Rowland the injury wasn’t related to the ones that limited him to 15 games last season.

Tillie missed the first two months of the season after having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right ankle. He was sidelined for the final month of the West Coast Conference regular season with a partially torn plantar fascia in his right foot. He returned for the WCC Tournament and four NCAA Tournament games.

Tillie told Rowland that he thought the workout was going well prior to sustaining his injury.

Tillie is one of five Zags to declare for the draft. Under the new rules, Tillie would have to cut ties with his agent by May 29 if he decides to return to Gonzaga for his senior season.

The 6-foot-10 Tillie averaged 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds last season. He made nearly 44% of his 3-point attempts.

Tillie didn’t submit his name for the 2018 draft after suffering a hip injury prior to an NCAA Tournament loss to Florida State. He connected on 47.9% of his 3-pointers and averaged 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds as a sophomore.