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Ute forward Donnie Tillman is booked for a Jazz workout Friday; will he rejoin Utah by the deadline?

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) USC Trojans forward Bennie Boatwright (25) trails Utah Utes forward Donnie Tillman (3) as he takes the ball to the hoop, in PAC-12 basketball action between Utah Utes and USC Trojans at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, Thursday, March 7, 2019.

Utah junior forward Donnie Tillman will work out for the Jazz on Friday, five days before the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA draft.

Tillman will join Syracuse wing Oshae Brissett, Houston guard Corey Davis, Davidson guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson, Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy and Gonzaga wing Zach Norvell Jr. in the workout at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus.

Sedrick Barefield, Tillman’s former Ute teammate, worked out for the Jazz last May, shortly before the deadline, and became an All-Pac-12 guard in his senior season.

Tillman was named the conference’s Sixth Man of the Year as a sophomore, when he averaged 10.5 points and 5.3 rebounds. He acknowledged having an up-and-down season, but he scored in double figures in each of Utah’s last five games.

Following a scoreless game at Washington in late February, he responded with 16 points and good defense on Washington State star Robert Franks in a victory three days later. Tillman scored 18 points in Utah’s loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals.

Tillman is young for being a rising junior; he’ll turn 20 in August. He’s one of two juniors (along with junior college transfer Alfonso Plummer) that includes no seniors, with center Jayce Johnson moving to Marquette as a graduate transfer, center Brandon Morley going to Utah Valley and guard Charles Jones in the NCAA transfer portal.


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