Illinois Freshman Adds to Impressive Draft Resume

The 2025 NBA Draft class is shaping up to be one of the better one’s in years, boasting combo forwards, jumbo guards and productive centers.

Five-star freshmen are largely leading the effort, and Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis is near the front of the pack in that regard. At 6-foot-6, he got off to a decent start with the Illini, and has been steadily climbing ever since.

He has a nice blend of skill, feel for the game and a dash of athleticism, filling the box score in every way imaginable.

That was especially so in Illinois’ Sunday-night bout with Northwestern, where Jakucionis shone with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to three turnovers. He was even able to nab one steal and block in shooting 50% overall. The only mark on his night was his 1-for-5 3-point shooting, which he’s more than proven over his first 16 games of the season.

The jumbo guard did a bit of everything against the Wildcats, posting up for clean jump-shots, slicing to the rim to finish with ease, getting it to go in the mid-range and facilitating plenty.

Sunday night’s contest somewhat encapsulated his season, which has been chock full of counting stats with 16.2 points, 5.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. So far, he’s proven himself a floor general in his short time with Illinois. Per an earlier scouting report on Jakucionis from NBA Draft on SI: “When it comes down to it, the Illinois freshman simply makes those around him better. He’s a team player who generally makes things happen when the ball is in his hands. At times he gets caught trying to do too much, but as he continues to get more reps at the college level, Jakucionis will learn to better determine when he needs to take a step back and let the game come to him.”

As it stands now, he’s likely played himself into the top-five in terms of stock. And it’s not out of the range of possibilities that a team fancies his talents as a scorer, passer and shooter at No. 2 or 3.

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