Is Stefan Vaaks the next great Illini basketball guard?

Illinois has shown over the last two years, with NBA-bound guards Kasparas Jakucionis and Keaton Wagler, that this staff knows how to identify, develop, and maximize elite backcourt talent.

In fact, one can say that the Illini have had really good fortune with elite freshman guard play. Most times, it is extremely difficult to be as successful as the Illini have been with a freshman guard leading the offense. Jakucionis and Wagler played above their ages, and Illinois has reaped the benefits.

Coming off a final four run and Wagler’s departure to the NBA, the Illini brought in Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks to be the next great Illini basketball guard.

Vaaks is Special

Stefan Vaaks heads to Champaign after a strong freshman season at Providence, where he averaged 15.8 points and 3.2 assists per game. Per 247sports, he is the number 15 overall prospect in the 2026 transfer portal class. Vaaks is an elite shot creator as he knocked down 91 threes while shooting 35 percent from deep.

Vaaks also ranked in the 75th percentile nationally on off-the-dribble threes, and his quick, high release makes him tough to bother, whether he’s pulling up or catching and firing. He also played for Kim English at Providence in an offense that leaned heavily on ball-screen action, so a lot of the reads Tyler Underwood will ask him to make won’t be new.

There are still questions, though. He shot just 40.3 percent from the field, and some of that came from forcing tough looks in a high-usage role. Defensively, he’ll need to be more consistent and fully buy into what Brad Underwood demands.

The good news here is that he won’t have to do everything himself. #TheRetention of David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, The Ivisic twins, and Jake Davis allows Vaaks to settle into his role instead of carrying a heavy workload to start his Illini career

If Vaaks can play efficient and consistent ball, Illinois may have found its next breakout guard.

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