Illinois Basketball: Update on Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic

Update on Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic

Over the weekend, Illinois Basketball assistant coach, Geoff Alexander, was on Illini Pella Saturday Sportstalk. Alexander provided an update on the team and some of the players who have yet to arrive. Per Alexander, the roster seems all present on campus except for Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic. Coach Alexander stated that Kasparas is about “a week away” as he has traveled to Madrid, Spain to get his VISA. Afterward, Alexander added that Ivisic is “a little behind Kasparas”, however, he does expect the big man to arrive on campus shortly. In addition, Morez Johnson Jr is just arriving on campus after his time with Team USA.

There have been rumblings regarding Tomislav’s arrival to Champaign being delayed. Last year, Tomislav’s brother, Zvonimir, dealt with delays in arriving in Kentucky and eventually dealt with academic eligibility problems. Illinois Basketball fans and staff hope that Ivisic can play as soon as possible.

From Saturday, Geoff Alexander with an off-season update on the arrival of Morez Johnson, Kasparas Jakucionis & Tomislav Ivišić #illini pic.twitter.com/aPIqgGmZno

— 🆃ⓐ🅹🅷 ♕ (@Recru1t1ng_Guru) June 17, 2024

Two important pieces for Illinois Basketball

Jakucionis and Ivisic are both European players who will make their way to Champaign for their first year of college basketball. However, both Jakucionis and Ivisic are expected to play a large role on the 2024-2025 team. Ivisic is a true 7-footer who some consider will start amongst a very intriguing Illini frontcourt of Ben Humrichous, Carey Booth, and Morez Johnson Jr.

Certainly, Jakucionis was another notable win as the FC Barcelona guard impressed over the summer with his impressive playmaking and feel for the game. Surprisingly, Illinois basketball seems rather confident that they will add more talent to their roster later this month.

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