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Illini Basketball Duo Are First Back-to-Backs of NBA Draft Since Duke Tandem

Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley were the first to turn the trick since Duke's Mark Williams and A.J. Griffin in 2022
Jared Shlensky|
Feb 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) and guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) celebrate during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Feb 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Will Riley (7) and guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) celebrate during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

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Illinois freshmen Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley on Wednesday became the first college teammates since 2022 to be drafted consecutively in the first round of the NBA Draft. The first-ever one-and-done players in Illini basketball history, Jakucionis was selected 20th overall by the Miami Heat while Riley was drafted 21st overall by the Washington Wizards.

Before Jakucionis and Riley, the most recent college duo to come off the NBA Draft board consecutively were Duke's Mark Williams (No. 15) and A.J. Griffin (No. 16) in 2022. Coincidentally, Griffin's older brother, Alan, played at Illinois for two seasons before transferring to Syracuse. Their father, Adrian, played 10 years in the NBA and was an assistant coach in the league for another 12 seasons.

Atfer it was all said and done, Wednesday was a successful day for the Illini basketball program, even if coach Brad Underwood lost two of his best performers to the pros and Jakucionis went a little later than expected in the draft. Illinois was one of just three programs to have multiple players selected in the first round, and Wednesday marked just the third time in program history the Illini had multiple first-round selections.

Underwood has elevated expectations for talent levels at Illinois, which has seen four players selected in the NBA Draft during the coach's tenure in Champaign. The Illini lead the Big Ten with three first-round picks over the past two drafts.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

A Look at Each Illinois NBA Draft Pick Since the Turn of the Century

Ty Rodgers' Injury: How It Will Shake Up Illinois' Projected Rotation

Social Media Reacts to Illinois' Will Riley Being Drafted by Washington Wizards

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster.

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