If appearances mean anything, then Kim Tillie might be poised for a breakout season.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward looks tremendous, after a summer spent playing at the U-20 European Championships for his native France. Not only did he average 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds while playing small forward to help France finish seventh in the 16-team tournament, but he seems to have put on some muscle and improved his already impressive fitness.

How much?

He led the Utes in their first 1-mile fitness test run recently, hauling his 215-pound body home in a sizzling 5 minutes and 18 seconds. Coach Jim Boylen has been impressed with him in the team's limited fall workouts, too -- he has said he can envision Tillie getting picked in the 2009 NBA Draft, then allowed to develop in Europe for a couple of years -- and Tillie said his confidence is soaring.

"I'm a little disappointed about the team part" of the European Championships, he said, "because we didn't reach our goals. But individually, I think I improved a lot. Practicing twice a day for over two months is way better than just staying here, where coaches can't work us out."

Tillie played 18 games during the summer, most of them exhibitions in preparations for the eight-game Euros in Riga, Latvia. But he said he's not worried about being worn out for his college season, after all that.

"Not really," he said, "because I had over a month to recover before I got here. I was just hanging out at home and with the family, which I don't get to do a lot during the year."