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SALT LAKE CITY — Donnie Tillman is reportedly going home.
Well, sort of.
The 6-foot-7, 225-pound sophomore from Detroit, Michigan, is transferring to play for new UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger, according to multiple reports.
The move was first reported Monday by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and confirmed by several sources, including CBS Sports reporter Jon Rothstein.
Tillman was originally set to take a leave of absence from Utah for "personal reasons," university officials announced in a statement in June. But the Detroit native told the Deseret News in a follow-up story that he wasn't set on coming back to Salt Lake City.
That led to Tillman's rounds as a college basketball transfer, making stops as far away as Rutgers before settling on UNLV.
The move is a homecoming, of sorts, for Tillman. Before averaging 10.3 points, 5.3 rebouns and 1.7 assists per game as a sophomore with the Runnin' Utes, he played three seasons at Findlay Prep, the former Southern Nevada basketball power that announced earlier this year it was shutting down. His mother still lives in the Las Vegas area.
It likely won't be the last time local college basketball fans will hear from Tillman, though. The Runnin' Rebels will face Mountain West rival Utah State in Las Vegas on Jan. 1, followed by a return date Feb. 5 in Logan on Feb. 5. They also have a non-conference matchup Dec. 7 with BYU in Salt Lake City.
Under NCAA transfer rules, Tillman would be required to sit out one season for transferring. But the forward is expected to petition the NCAA for a waiver to play immediately, and UNLV expects that waiver to be granted, according to the Review-Journal.
