- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 444,876
- Reaction score
- 44
Apr. 12—Neither Kasparas Jakucionis nor Will Riley have officially declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. Count on it happening soon. Mostly because it has to. The deadline for early entrants (of which both Jakucionis and Riley would be) to declare for the draft is April 26.
Both Illinois freshmen are still projected as first-round picks in most mock drafts. Jakucionis' stock has dropped a little bit — his turnover trouble can't be ignored — but he's still firmly in the lottery. Riley's stock rose thanks to the way he played the final two months of the season.
The Ringer still publishes an despite Kevin O'Connor taking his talents to Yahoo!, and it has Jakucionis and Riley at Nos. 9 and 25, respectively, in the most recent update. Here's some of the scout on the Illini stars:
"Ultimately, Jakucionis's success at the next level will live or die with his credibility as a scorer, and while I don't think he is an 'If it's in the air, jog the other way' type of marksman, I'm optimistic he'll be a consistent threat as a shooter. Through January 1 (so, pre-injury), Jakucionis was hitting 41.4 of his 3s, and the types of attempts varied—a blend of stepbacks in isolation and dribble pull-ups in the pick-and-roll and catch-and-shoot looks.
"Post-injury, his self-created 3s dried up almost entirely, which I suspect was a result of that injury to his nonshooting forearm. Beyond that, the craft in his middle game could definitely stand to progress and evolve, but he's great when he gets to the rim. When he isn't finishing at the basket (71.7 percent there), he relishes contact, which allows him to be a foul-generating machine. I expect his broad-shouldered frame to become a useful hammer in the paint by his mid-20s."
"Riley plays with a modern intuition that, paradoxically, makes him hard to place in today's NBA game. Skilled 6-foot-8 wings with the ability to confidently pull up from 28 feet out, throw a hook pass off a live dribble, and capably navigate and relocate off the ball into open space don't grow on trees. Riley's size grants him novel angles and vantage points alongside what is ostensibly a guard's skill set.
"But the young Canadian's thin frame presents a daunting burden of proof. On good nights, Riley's well-rounded, rhythm- and timing-based offense flows like lava—methodical but scintillating. On off nights, you wonder whether he'll ever be strong enough to survive the NBA's rigors."
Continue reading...
Both Illinois freshmen are still projected as first-round picks in most mock drafts. Jakucionis' stock has dropped a little bit — his turnover trouble can't be ignored — but he's still firmly in the lottery. Riley's stock rose thanks to the way he played the final two months of the season.
The Ringer still publishes an despite Kevin O'Connor taking his talents to Yahoo!, and it has Jakucionis and Riley at Nos. 9 and 25, respectively, in the most recent update. Here's some of the scout on the Illini stars:
"Ultimately, Jakucionis's success at the next level will live or die with his credibility as a scorer, and while I don't think he is an 'If it's in the air, jog the other way' type of marksman, I'm optimistic he'll be a consistent threat as a shooter. Through January 1 (so, pre-injury), Jakucionis was hitting 41.4 of his 3s, and the types of attempts varied—a blend of stepbacks in isolation and dribble pull-ups in the pick-and-roll and catch-and-shoot looks.
"Post-injury, his self-created 3s dried up almost entirely, which I suspect was a result of that injury to his nonshooting forearm. Beyond that, the craft in his middle game could definitely stand to progress and evolve, but he's great when he gets to the rim. When he isn't finishing at the basket (71.7 percent there), he relishes contact, which allows him to be a foul-generating machine. I expect his broad-shouldered frame to become a useful hammer in the paint by his mid-20s."
"Riley plays with a modern intuition that, paradoxically, makes him hard to place in today's NBA game. Skilled 6-foot-8 wings with the ability to confidently pull up from 28 feet out, throw a hook pass off a live dribble, and capably navigate and relocate off the ball into open space don't grow on trees. Riley's size grants him novel angles and vantage points alongside what is ostensibly a guard's skill set.
"But the young Canadian's thin frame presents a daunting burden of proof. On good nights, Riley's well-rounded, rhythm- and timing-based offense flows like lava—methodical but scintillating. On off nights, you wonder whether he'll ever be strong enough to survive the NBA's rigors."
Continue reading...
