Meet the Illinois basketball freshmen duo who’re already potential first-round NBA picks

The 2024-25 school basketball season has formally kicked off, and there have already been modifications contained in the AP High 25, as groups have labored their means by way of some powerful non-conference competitors to start the 12 months.

The 2024 freshman class has been particularly spectacular to start the 12 months, as this group is rapidly wanting like one of many deeper courses in latest historical past, with expertise unfold throughout the board.

On the subject of 1-2 punches, there haven’t been many extra spectacular freshman duos to begin the 12 months than Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley, who’ve put collectively sturdy performances in their very own means because the Preventing Illinois have climbed to a fast 3-0 lead.

Jakucionis, the workforce’s start line guard, has led the workforce in minutes and is averaging 9 factors per sport to go along with a team-high 7.7 assists, rapidly rising as top-of-the-line passers not solely on his personal squad, however in all of school basketball.

The 6’6”, 200-pound freshman possesses a novel skillset for his body, as he’s been assertive by way of three video games, trying to create for his teammates, whereas looking for his personal shot when wanted, be it attacking the rim or from behind the arc.

There have after all been early bumps within the street, as anticipated for a freshman, as Jakucionis has averaged 3.3 turnovers per contest, nevertheless it’s signal for the Preventing Illini that their Lithuanian freshman has come alongside as rapidly as he has, because the workforce undergoes a major transition.

“He’s mature.” head coach Underwood mentioned about his level guard. “He’s sensible. He performs to win. He doesn’t play for a stat line. He simply offers what the sport offers him.

“It simply doesn’t matter what the sport wants. He’s obtained a maturity about him with that.”

Then comes ahead Will Riley, a five-star recruit within the Class of 2024, who exploded in his first sport of the season with 31 factors on 10 of 13 capturing, hitting 5 of 6 of his threes in a monster offensive efficiency over Japanese Illinois.

“He’s simply obtained a present,” Underwood mentioned about his gifted freshman. “When he will get one or two going, it’s so some ways. He obtained to the foul line, he was offensive rebounding, it was fifteen-footers, it was threes off the dribble; it’s a little bit little bit of every little thing. He’s not simply ‘Hey we’re going to do that one factor and cease it,’ he’s obtained a reasonably full package deal.”

Riley hasn’t been as electrical within the two video games after, scoring 14 and eight factors, respectively, however he nonetheless leads Illinois, averaging 17.7 factors, whereas capturing 51.5 p.c from the sector and 69.2 p.c from deep.

Illinois needed to exchange a variety of key gamers from final 12 months’s workforce, as Terrence Shannon Jr., Coleman Hawkins, and Marcus Domask all departed, alongside a variety of function gamers, main the workforce to exit and get some expertise through the switch portal.

That led them so as to add 5 gamers from the switch portal, nevertheless it has been the freshmen who’ve completely impressed early on, with Riley being their high scorer and Jakucionis being their high facilitator.

As Illinois seems to be to take care of its stance as a high energy within the Massive Ten, it’ll look to depend on its gifted freshman duo to prepared the ground, each by way of the nice and the unhealthy because the season goes alongside.