Illinois Basketball 2024-2025 Awards: Most Valuable Player

Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis, the Illini's top talent, is our pick for last season's team MVP

Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) reacts during the second half against the Xavier Musketeers at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

This week Illinois on SI will announce its 2024-25 men's basketball awards – one each, Monday through Friday – to honor the individual contributions of last season's Illini.

Defensive Player of the Year: Tomislav Ivisic

Transfer of the Year: Kylan Boswell

Sixth Man of the Year: Will Riley

Fan Favorite: Jake Davis

Cautious hopes for a difference-making freshman season followed Kasparas Jakucionis from Vilnius, Lithuania, to Champaign, and those hopes turned to boundless optimism and, eventually, wild expectations.

Although Jakucionis didn't finish his first season in the States and in an Illini uniform with quite the gusto that he started it, overzealous fans should recognize: An 18-year-old moved 4,000 miles from home to an utterly foreign environment and authored one of the best first seasons in Illinois men's basketball history. That should be worth something more than nitpicking criticism. In our book, it's worth our Illinois on SI Most Valuable Player award.

Illinois on SI’s Pick: Kasparas Jakucionis

2024-2025 stats: 15.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.7 apg 

Yes, Jakucionis had his faults – notably, his ball-security issues (3.7 turnovers per game) – but the Illini lead guard was the team's go-to offensive weapon, leading the squad in points and assists. He was a pick-and-roll maestro, with the ability to see a play before it unfolded, and a knack for manipulating a defense with his eyes and ball fakes.

As a scorer, Jakucionis used his change-of-pace ability, high-level footwork and positional size (6-foot-6) to slither into the lane, get off shots from all angles and convert around the basket or earn trips to the free-throw line (5.1 free throws per game). Jakucionis' shot selection and three-point efficiency left something to be desired (just 31.8 percent), but he connected on 1.6 threes per game and hit more than his share of clutch shots in some of the biggest moments across the Big Ten last season.

ICE 🗡️ COLD 🗡️ KJ pic.twitter.com/zD1L3j7ZKE

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) March 8, 2025

Aided by his size, Jakucionis was an exceptional rebounder at his position, ranking third on the team in boards per game (5.7). And although he wasn’t a plus defender, Jakucionis was more than serviceable, using his length, understanding of angles and anticipation well enough to often make up for his lack of explosive quickness against Big Ten guards.

Runner-up: Tomislav Ivisic

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