Illinois basketball is coming off one of the toughest losses in recent memory.
The Illini held strong against the Spartans on Sunday. This could have been a blowout loss with how the chips were falling, but Illinois came together as a team and made Michigan State sweat down to the end.
One of the chips that didn’t fall in Illinois’ direction was the refereeing. Star guard Kasparas Jakucionis got called for two early fouls, which made him sit for much of the first half. He then came back in the second half and got called for three quick fouls. Without even playing 10 minutes, the future first-team All-Big Ten point guard was out of the game.
Illinois fans have all witnessed the impact Jakucionis has made on the team this season. When he is in the game, this program is completely different.
In the press conference after the game, Brad Underwood talked about Jakucionis and how special he has been for this team.
“They (Michigan State) did nothing defensively. He (Kasparas Jakucionis) diced them up to start the game. There hasn’t been one player in the country, or one team in the country, that can guard him with any success. He is a maestro.”
Once Jakucionis started to get his feet underneath him in the college game, his career took off. Coming into the game against Michigan State, he had 10 consecutive games scoring at least 14 points.
Jakucionis does more with the basketball than just put the ball in the hoop, though. He makes his teammates better. He puts his teammates in better positions to score the basketball, and he gets them open. Underwood also touched on this fact.
“We know how good we are when we have him. He elevates everybody at a rate that is really hard to define. I am not trying to blow smoke up him, he knows how good he is. He doesn’t need me telling him that, but he is just different.”
Even with Jakucionis playing just nine minutes in the game on Sunday, he still had a positive impact on the team. The kid finished with three points, three assists, one block, and one steal. He had the second-highest plus-minus in the game at +5 as well.
Kasparas Jakucionis has had jaw-dropping numbers over the past 10 games for the Illinois basketball program
There is so much to love about Jakucionis’ game. The energy he brings to the court is infectious. The kid has incredible point guard vision, and this enables his teammates to get easier buckets.
Even just his hard numbers stand out. Over the past 10 games, Jakucionis has played some special basketball. I mentioned his scoring earlier in this article, but his talent goes beyond scoring.
Since November 25, Jakucionis has averaged 20.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Those are incredible numbers, but what stands out even more is his three-point shooting.
While Jakucionis is finding the open man and pulling down boards, he is also doing all of this while shooting 45.9% from three-point range.
Let that number sink in for a second. That is a three-point shooting percentage Steph Curry couldn’t hit in college. And most of the three-point attempts for Jakucionis aren’t plays that are set up. He is creating these shots on his own, which makes it even more special.
At the end of the day, Illinois basketball has one of the greatest players to ever come through the program. Underwood knows this. The fanbase knows this. Come March and April, the country will know this.