Why the Struggles of Illinois Basketball's Kasparas Jakucionis May Be Over

The Illini freshman hit a wall against Oakland, but one prominent voice says that's a one-and-done situation

Nov 13, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) defends Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard Jayson Goodrich (11) during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

When Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis encountered his first rough patch of the season, the effect it had on his productivity wasn't that of a speed bump but a brick wall.

In his first two games as an Illini, Jakucionis – a 6-foot-6 Lithuanian guard who may well be playing in NBA games at this time next year – averaged 10.0 assists and seemed to have the Illinois offense (and the game itself) on a string. He wasn't just comfortable but masterful running screen-and-roll, and he shifted easily between playmaking for others – with excellent vision and timing as a passer – and finding his own shot by digging into an array of options in his considerable bag.

He's got that Eurovision 🥶#Illini | #HTTO | #EveryDayGuys pic.twitter.com/HA9MgP7iGl

— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) November 14, 2024

But that all ended against Oakland on Wednesday. Against the Golden Grizzlies, Jakucionis not only saw his numbers nosedive, but he also appeared out of sorts, confused and directionless. That's to be expected, though, right? He's only 18, and freshman are bound to stumble from time to time.

Well, according to at least one prominent voice, it may be a one-and-done situation.

Stephen Bardo, a former Illini guard and current Big Ten Network analyst who worked the Illinois-Oakland game for BTN on Wednesday, spoke to Illinois on SI on Thursday about that so-called wall. In actuality, it was Greg Kampe's zone defense – and Bardo had another word for it:

"So that amoeba – I was calling it an amoeba-like zone – it's a man-to-man defense with zone principles," Bardo said. "So that's totally opposite of what you're taught playing the game, right? And so, say, for example – because this happened a couple times last night – Jakucionis had the basketball, he starts to drive into the Oakland defense. When there's a ball handler driving, the person that he gets past, they slip off to help side, and a person that's on help side jumps at them. OK, that's very different than what you're used to.

"And so what happens is, when you first put the ball On the deck and you get past your first defender, you're like, 'Oh, man, I can relax,' or, you know, 'I've got an opening here.' Well, that opening is going to close quickly with a guy running at you. And it's very different, because a lot of times on help defense, you're taught to help and wait for the offense to come to you. You're not taught to run at a guy that's coming at you. Handling the basketball [against that scheme] is very unorthodox, and so if you haven't seen it, it kind of throws you – and it threw KJ a few times last night."

Although the Illini (3-0) bit down and scraped together a 66-54 win over the Golden Grizzlies, Jakucionis finished with a stat line that looked nothing like those from his first two games: four points on 0-for-3 shooting from the field and just three assists against five turnovers.

"He's expecting from his instinct and experience to see one thing, but something else happened very quickly, and it threw him off, resulting in a turnover," Bardo said. "So, you know, he won't see that again this season."

Well, until another opponent decides to throw a funky zone at Jakucionis and the Illini again, right?

"No, I don't think so," said Bardo, who played for Illinois from 1986-90 and starred on Lou Henson's Flyin' Illini teams.

The reason, Bardo says, is Kampe. In his 41st season in Oakland, Kampe is the longest-tenured Division I coach in college basketball and, according to Bardo, "one of the most delightful basketball minds that you could ever be around."

He's also impossible to duplicate.

"The reason he runs that defense is because ... he says, 'Stephen, what does everybody run in college basketball?' I said, 'Ball screen.' He said, 'Exactly. We take them out of it.'

"So Jakucionis, he might see a hard hedge on a ball screen. He'll be able to deal with that because I've seen I've seen him adjust to that. If they're in drop coverage, I've seen him adjust to that. He's not going to really see anything quite like [Oakland's defense]. Maybe Oregon, because of their length and the way that Dana Altman changes defenses and whatnot. He may see something like that when Illinois goes out to Oregon in early January.

"But outside of that, I don't really see anyone else playing the type of defense that would confuse him, because he's very mature. To be honest, his chronological age, you can tell he's played a lot of basketball. He's played with some grown men."

In other words, if Jakucionis could handle Spain's Liga ACB at age 16, he isn't going to get too shaken up by Purdue or Duke or even No. 2 Alabama, which the Illini face in Birmingham next Wednesday (8 p.m. CT, on SEC Network).

Lucky for Jakucionis, the amoeba isn't likely to rear it's ugly head again this season.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

Illinois Basketball Grades: Analysis vs. Oakland (Game 3)

3 Key Numbers from Illinois Basketball's Win Over Oakland

Instant Analysis: Illinois Basketball Grinds Out 66-54 Win Over Oakland