Brooklyn Nets NBA Draft Notebook: Recapping the Thanksgiving Slate

Top international point guards Kasparas Jakucionis and Egor Demin had their first taste of college basketball Thanksgiving Day action.

Nov 20, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis (32) sticks out his tongue as he drives into the lane in the CM Newton Classic at Legacy Arena. Alabama defeated Illinois 100-87. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The NBA took Thanksgiving Day off, but there was still plenty of college basketball to go around. A handful of potential lottery picks played on Thursday, namely in Arkansas vs. Illinois, Ole Miss vs. BYU and Oklahoma vs. Arizona.

In particular, it was worth paying attention to the point guards. Lithuanian playmaker Kasparas Jakucionis had his best game yet for Illinois, dropping 23 points, six rebounds and four assists in his team’s win against Arkansas. On the Razorbacks’ side, Bronx native Boogie Fland had a 2-of-12, eight-point night. He really struggled to get going, and his teammate Adou Thiero, a strong and athletic late-blooming wing, looked like his team’s right now.

Meanwhile, BYU’s Egor Demin — Jakucionis’ rival for best international point guard of the 2025 NBA Draft — had a more up-and-down night. The Russian prospect still finished with 16 points and four assists against Ole Miss, but he took a while to get going against higher-caliber competition than what he’d faced so far. Demin's best games in a Cougars shirt had come against Central Arkansas, UC Riverside or Idaho, none of which rank within KenPom’s top 160.

Kasparas Jakucionis can't miss! @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/oykAvLcDWP

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) November 28, 2024

Freshman Jeremiah Fears continued his breakout with 26 points and five assists against a good Arizona team. Fears was originally a top 25, fringe five-star prospect in the high school class of 2025, but he reclassified over the summer to instead be eligible for the upcoming 2025 draft. The Sooners guard is averaging 18 points and 4.7 assists on very high usage while shooting 36.4% from three. Fears doesn’t turn 19 years old until next October.

Finally, although these games took place in the two days before Thanksgiving, it’s worth noting Dylan Harper’s recent performances. The Rutgers freshman guard looks to be in a tier of his own when it comes to playmakers in this draft, and he backed it up with 36 and 37-point nights against Notre Dame and Alabama, respectively. Nets general manager Sean Marks has already evaluated Harper in person.

As of Friday morning, the Brooklyn Nets are 9-10. Tankathon currently projects Brooklyn to start picking at No. 15 in the 2025 draft, although that will likely change. The Nets could have up to six picks in total.

Watch List

Here are three options per day of games to watch for this upcoming weekend of the NBA Draft cycle:

Friday, Nov. 29 at 2:30 PM ET: Pitt @ Ohio State — Jaland Lowe, Guillermo Diaz Graham (Pitt); Juni Mobley, Sean Stewart (Ohio State)

Friday, Nov. 29 at 3:00 PM ET: Arizona @ West Virginia — Carter Bryant, Motiejus Krivas, KJ Lewis, Jaden Bradley (Arizona); Tucker DeVries (West Virginia) 

Friday, Nov. 29 at 5:30 PM ET: Oklahoma @ Louisville — Jeremiah Fears (Oklahoma); James Scott, Khani Rooths (Louisville)

Saturday, Nov. 30 at 3:30 PM ET: Texas A&M @ Rutgers — Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey (Rutgers); Solomon Washington, Zhuric Phelps (Texas A&M)

Saturday, Nov. 30 at 7:00 PM ET: San Diego State @ Houston — JoJo Tugler, Milos Uzan (Houston); Miles Byrd (San Diego State)  

Saturday, Nov. 30 at 9:30 PM ET: Oregon @ Alabama — Labaron Philon, Derrion Reid, Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson, Mouhamed Dioubate, Aden Holloway (Alabama); Jackson Shelstad, Brandon Angel (Oregon) 

Sunday, Dec. 1 at 10:30 AM ET: Ulm vs. Baskets Bonn — Ben Saraf, Noa Essengue (Ulm) 

Sunday, Dec. 1 at 12:00 PM ET: Alcorn State @ Maryland — Derik Queen (Maryland) 

Sunday, Dec. 1 at 5:00 PM ET: Mexico City Capitanes vs. Osceola Magic — Dink Pate (Mexico City)

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