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Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis Earns Prized Spot on Sam Vecenie's NBA Draft Board

Illini freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis, projected to go to the Utah Jazz at No. 6, has one-and-done talent

Jason Langendorf

Mar 5, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; The Illinois fighting Illini fans called The Orange Krush cheer on their team during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
Mar 5, 2024; Champaign, Illinois, USA; The Illinois fighting Illini fans called The Orange Krush cheer on their team during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
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On a day when the 2024-25 Preseason AP Top 25 was released – without the inclusion of Illinois among its ranks, though just outside them – most are hedging their bets on what this season's Illini collective can be.

But individually? Whoa, mama, does it look like the Illini have scored.

The latest evidence is Sam Vecenie's 2025 NBA mock draft in The Athletic, which projects 6-foot-5 freshman Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis, a 19-year-old from Lithuania, to be drafted with the No. 6 pick by the Utah Jazz in next summer's 2025 NBA Draft.

As Vecenie writes, "Jakucionis comes in at No. 6 because he is the player I’ve received the most positive feedback on outside of that top group from sources connected to both college basketball and the NBA.

"The idea here is a big, multi-skilled guard who can play with or without the ball in his hands. He is a maestro in ball screens and a tremendous passer. He shoots it well both off pull-ups and off the catch. The concerns here are that he’s not overly athletic, but he knows how to use his frame in ways that allow him to maintain advantages when necessary out of those screening actions."

Encouraging for Jakucionis? Absolutely? For Illini fans? Um ... maybe?

A few thoughts:

Based on Vecenie's assessment and other early reports about (see below), Jakucionis figures to play a significant role in Illinois' 2024-25 season. He'll almost certainly win the Illini a game or two – maybe more – with an over-the-top performance or clutch shot along the way.

Yet, while this is largely the way the game is played now, the Illini are more likely to miss out on the best bits of Jakucionis' early-career development than they are to reap the reawrds from them – at least this season. It's the new college basketball Catch-22: If a hyped youngster doesn't initially meet his potential, then his college team probably peters out and it's "Wait 'til next year." If he's an instant hit, he's probably one-and-done and it's "Glad to know ya, peace out!"

It's not unheard of for a Division I college basketball program with near-total roster churn to compete at the highest level – just ask John Calipari – but it is extraordinarily rare. It remains to be seen whether the Illini, with coach Brad Underwood and a talented group of newcomers, can strike the right formula to blend it all into a one-year winner.

Taking the longer view, a relatively successful Illini season in which Jakucionis confirms his NBA draft stock and sends him on his way to the pros can still be a boon for Illinois. Any demonstration to future recruits that Underwood and the Illini can be a consistently viable and fast-acting launching pad to the NBA serves the program well – whether those prospects dwell in, say, the Chicago Public League a few hours up the road or thousands of miles abroad, beyond international waters.

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Jason Langendorf
JASON LANGENDORF

Jason Langendorf is a longtime journalist who has covered football and basketball, among other sports, for ESPN, Sporting News, the Chicago Sun-Times and numerous other publications.

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