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Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Jonathan Mills, 26, former Southern Miss star, shot and killed in Chicago

Men's College Basketball, Southern Miss Southern Miss

Former Southern Mississippi forward Jonathan Mills, 26, was shot and killed Monday afternoon in Chicago, near the high school where he once starred, police said

Mills was preparing for a workout at his alma mater, North Lawndale College Prep, when a gunman opened fire on Mills and a group of his friends near a store close to the school, according to the Chicago Tribune. Mills suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to police spokesman Thomas Sweeney, who had no other details about the shooting and said no arrests had been made.

"He was a great kid," Donnie Tyndall, Mills' coach at Southern Miss, told ESPN.com. "City-tough but a kindhearted kid. Straight warrior on the floor but a kid I would let babysit my daughters. He told me he loved me every time we talked. Just tragic."

During the 2012-13 season, the 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward averaged 9.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game at Southern Miss, where he spent two seasons after beginning his career at Eastern Utah junior college. He earned his second consecutive Conference USA all-defensive team selection that year.

As a senior at North Lawndale in 2009, he earned first-team all-state honors from the Tribune and led his team to a third-place finish in Chicago's Class 3A.

It was Mills' two free throws in the final second that in 2012 sealed the 400th career coaching win for Larry Eustachy, who preceded Tyndall at Southern Miss.

Mills played professionally in Canada in 2014-15 for the London Lightning, and later played semi-pro ball in Chicago.

According to DNAinfo.com, more than 360 people have been murdered in Chicago this year.

"It's out of control," Tyndall said of the violence in the city.

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