5. Kasparas Jakucionis can’t come back soon enough
The Illinois basketball team gave the fanbase a mirage this week. They welcomed in Penn State and trounced the Nittany Lions without Kasparas Jakucionis.
This beatdown made us think the Illini could win the game without Jakucionis, especially against bad teams like USC. Without him, we took down the Nittany Lions by 39 points, so the Trojans shouldn’t be a problem.
Well, what we saw on Saturday was an embarrassment. Illinois came out and looked terrible. There was no cohesion whatsoever, and this game made me take a step back and really appreciate the talent of Jakucionis.
Illinois fell short of USC, and the result of the loss is that I can’t wait for Jakucionis to get healthy. Illinois needs the kid on the court, and he can’t come back soon enough.
The team in general doesn’t run nearly as well without Jakucionis with the rock. He is our point guard and facilitator. Jakucionis gets us in our offense, and he leads fastbreaks better than anyone.
I also can’t wait for Jakucionis to return because that gives Illinois the starting lineup we need to be dangerous. Will Riley would then go back to the bench and isn’t relied on nearly as much because of Jakucionis’ presence.
Lastly, I wanted to mention that Jakucionis would always come through when Illinois needed him the most. When the Illini needed a bucket, Jakucionis would hit his patented step-back three-pointer. Whatever this team needs, Jakucionis always had an answer. Please, get healthy soon.