On the Rise: Illinois Basketball’s Kasparas Jakucionis Honored Again

Jakucionis, back on the upwing, was named to the Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Team on Friday

Feb 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

After Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis hung on through a rough four-game patch in which he averaged 11.0 points and 4.0 turnovers while shooting 36.6 percent from the field, he has quickly bounced back – a resurgence just in time for him to take on more midseason honors.

Having seemingly shaken the freshman slump out of his system, Jakucionis posted back-to-back 24-point games (each on 8-for-14 field-goal shooting) in wins over Minnesota and UCLA.

Then, in more good news for the projected lottery pick, it was announced on Friday that Jakucionis has been named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team – an honor awarded to just 30 men's college basketball players in the country.

Keep stacking. pic.twitter.com/4FmnBbfxhb

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 14, 2025

For those keeping count at home, Jakucionis adds the Naismith Midseason Team to a list of accolades that already includes Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List, Midseason All-America Third Team (Sporting News) and a unanimous Freshman All-America Team selection (The Athletic), among others.

For the season, Jakucionis is averaging 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists – a stat line that hasn’t been equaled by a freshman from a power conference since Washington’s Markelle Fultz in 2016-17. (It's worth noting that Fultz was then selected first in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.)

KJ's 24-point performance secured his ninth game with 20 or more.

A new Illinois freshman record. pic.twitter.com/1aZmJhRrMh

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) February 9, 2025

The Illini (17-8, 9-6 Big Ten) will need Jakucionis at his best as they enter a gauntlet run to end the season, with five of their six remaining opponents currently positioned in the top 20 of the AP poll.

The stretch begins on Saturday night when Illinois welcomes No. 11 Michigan State to Champaign (7 p.m. CT, on FOX) in a highly anticipated rematch of January’s battle, in which the Spartans won a nail-biter, 80-78, in East Lansing.

After getting just nine minutes out of Jakucionis in that matchup due to a series of dubious foul calls, the Illini need their offensive engine to stay on the floor and perform at Naismith Trophy-earning levels to help them pull off what would be their biggest win of the season to date.

Big Ten players named to Naismith Trophy Midseason Team:

Ace Bailey, Rutgers*
Dylan Harper, Rutgers*
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois*
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Derik Queen, Maryland*
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Danny Wolf, Michigan

*Indicates freshman

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