Kasparas Jakucionis is the best freshman since…

After each and every Illini basketball game, the praise for Kasparas Jakucionis becomes more ubiquitous. The 18-year-old Lithuanian guard has exceeded very high expectations thus far as he is translating an NBA skillset into direct success on the college basketball court. Through 9 games with the Illini, Jakucionis averages 15.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game on a 49.4 fg percentage and 44.2 percent from the three. As Illini Inquirer’s Derek Piper pointed out on Twitter, Jakucionis is averaging 20.5 points 6.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game on 55% FG and 48% from the three vs the four high major opponents this season.

As it stands right now, Kasparas Jakucionis is slated as pick number 16 on the NBAdraft.net mock draft. NBA Analysts are taking notice and even have him in the lottery for the 2025 NBA draft. When was the last time the Illini had such a productive freshman player?

Ayo Dosunmu

Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports

During Ayo Dosunmu‘s freshman season, he averaged 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Dosunmu certainly had his moments including multiple clutch shots toward the end of the season. However, he also played on a pretty bad, young team. Were his numbers inflated because he was on a bad team? Or could they have been as good as Kasparas Jakucionis’ if he had better players around him? The world will never know, however, Dosunmu was the most recent freshman phenom for the Illini. Afterward, Dosunmu developed into an All-American and second-round NBA Draft pick.

He is currently playing a huge role on the Chicago Bulls and recently put up his first NBA Triple double.

Additionally, fellow freshman Giorgi Bezhanishvili had a nice freshman season during the 2018-19 season. Bezhanishvili averaged 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Kofi Cockburn

Cockburn arrived to Illinois ready to play immediately. His impressive size and sheer dominance in the paint made him a force to be reckoned with from the get-go. On top of that, the aforementioned Dosunmu returned for his Sophomore season and certainly made for an elite one-two punch for the Illini. Kofi averaged 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. These stats helped Cockburn land Big Ten Freshman of the Year for the 2019-20 season.

Deon Thomas

To go back into the past, players such as Kiwane Garris, Cory Bradford, and Dee Brown certainly had impressive freshmen seasons. However, we can never forget the big fella, Deon Thomas, from Chicago, Illinois. Thomas averaged 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. Thomas went on to play four years in Champaign and became a first-round draft pick.

In all, Jakucionis may go down as the most impressive Illini basketball freshman in history. All three had successful campaigns, however, no one put themselves in the discussion for an NBA lottery pick. Enjoy Kasparas Jakucionis while you can, Illini fans.

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