Illinois basketball newcomer showing backcourt flexibility at FIBA U18 EuroBasket

There is a lot of basketball going on right now, and the Illinois basketball team has someone to watch in a tournament overseas.

While the 2024 Olympic Games are going on in France, there is also another tournament going on in Tampere, Finland, that should catch the eyes of Illini fans.

The FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament is going on right now. They have finished up the round-robin pool play, which determined who plays who in the bracket phase of the tournament.

Illinois fans have a rooting interest in this tournament overseas because Illini newcomer Kasparas Jakucionis is suiting up for Lithuania.

In pool play, Lithuania was just 1-2 with their only win coming in the last game on Monday, 84-81 over Spain.

Jakucionis has been one of the best, if not the best, players for Lithuania thus far as well. He is averaging 19.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Lithuania has a good team. Along with Jakucionis and his ability on the court, they also have Nojus Indrusaitis. He is a talented top-100 recruit from the state of Illinois but is attending Iowa State this upcoming season.

Kasparas Jakucionis showing the full repertoire of what he is bringing to the Illinois basketball program

The 1-2 record Lithuania boasted in the pool play has them now playing against Italy, which went 2-1. This is going to be a tough test, but Lithuania has the firepower, led by Jakucionis.

Jakucionis has been showing off his full arsenal in this tournament as well. He is a do-it-all type of guard who is going to be perfect in the Illinois offense.

In the three games of pool play, Jakucionis displayed his great passing ability. He made quite a few highlight plays, and his vision on the court is pretty special. He is going to be able to get Illinois into our offense and really help facilitate the ball.

I have also been impressed with Jakucionis’ ability to shoot the ball. Taking 6.3 three-point attempts per game and hitting them at a clip of 36.8% is impressive.

The only issue I have, and honestly it is something easily fixable, is Jakucionis’ turnovers. Averaging 5.3 turnovers per game is not optimal, but he is keeping his assist-to-turnover ratio at one or higher, which is good.

Bracket play in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket starts on Wednesday. Illinois fans should continue to tune in and watch what is about to come to Champaign for the 2024-25 campaign.