The Illini freshman guard dished his way to a record against SIUE, showing rare mastery on plays like this
Even after just two games, it should be expected that if any Illinois player were able to run an action as basic as the pick-and-roll and make it sing like Pavarotti, it would be Kasparas Jakucionis. Few freshman guards anywhere, in any era, arrive in the college game with as cultured and polished an understanding of the game – and with the skills to match – as Lithuania's Jakucionis.
Specifically, we'll focus on his first: On Illinois' game-opening possession against SIUE, Jakucionis sprinted off the left block toward the left wing, where forward Ben Humrichous awaited with a down screen. Jakucionis curled hard off Humrichous' hip, to his left, where center Tomislav Ivisic was ready with a dribble handoff at the top of the key. That's when the real fun began.
Ivisic' defender, SIUE's 6-foot-11 Arnas Sakenis, was then forced to slide with – but well in front of – Jakucionis to cut off his path to the basket. Mismatch. In the same moment, Ivisic forward pivoted , wiping Polk out of the play completely and finding no defensive help between him and the rim and dove – hard. Cue the crescendo!At this point, it was pitch-and-catch for the Illini point guard-center duo.
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