“HUGE” Illinois basketball On Business As Usual As Roster Additions Continues, Great Class Of 2024 Incomings
Illinois basketball has a great class of 2024 coming in, and one of the freshmen is impressing overseas.
The future of the Illinois basketball team continues to get brighter by the day
The Illini class of 2024 is quite impressive, with five-star recruit Will Riley poised to be one of the best players on the team right from the start.
Next season, Illinois will feature several players who could step up as key contributors. There are a number of incoming transfers expected to play significant minutes, along with another freshman, Kasparas Jakucionis, who is gaining considerable attention alongside Riley.
The 6-foot-5 guard is making the trip from Lithuania, where he has shone playing for his U18 national team. Recently, Jakucionis participated in the U18 EuroBasket tournament.
Although Lithuania didn’t perform well overall and ended up in a fifth-place match on Sunday, Jakucionis’s individual talent was on full display. In the game against France, despite losing by 10 points, he led all players with an impressive 37 points on 15-of-29 shooting, along with seven assists, four rebounds, and one steal.
Changes might need to be made to the projected Illinois basketball lineup for the 2024-25 season
When Riley decided to join Illinois in June, I shared a projected lineup for the basketball team. I had Kylan Boswell and Ty Rodgers in the starting backcourt, with Tre White on the wing. Jakucionis was among the first players anticipated to come off the bench.
Despite the loss, Kasparas Jakučionis did it all for Lithuania today with 37 points, seven assists and four boards.
Fun, high-level guard matchup between him and France’s Nolan Traoré#U18EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/3Di3FRMwbJ
— Blake (@blakesilverman) August 4, 2024
Jakucionis’ impressive performance against France is just a continuation of his great summer stats, leading me to consider starting the talented freshman.
The main concern I had with Jakucionis was his turnovers, but he demonstrated on Sunday that he can manage that. He recorded a 2.33:1 assist-to-turnover ratio against France, which is exactly the standard I’m looking for.
With time, Illinois’ roster continues to improve. The overall talent on the 2024-25 squad is remarkable.
