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Lithuanian Point Guards

  • Thread starter Thread starter Straight forward2
  • Start date Start date
Jakucionis in the zone already. Dropped 24pts against big team, led his team to win. Finally that nasty three and one that I was waiting :D He used to get at least one in a game basically. Now got couple of time fouled while shooting a three. He's the first Illini freshman to score +20 in 4 consecutive games. One long term Illini fan wrote that KJ is the best Illini freshman ever. People starting to call him NBA ready. Noceilingnba.com dropped him at 5 spot in the mock now. He becomes nearly a consensus top 5 pick and I still think he can become top 3 in the best case scenario. I can see that.

Visconsin coach said: "he's listed as a freshman, but he's not, he has more experience than typical freshman"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ChILEt5pjU&ab_channel=CBBEurope
 
From freshmen in last 10 NCAA seasons only 2 players did what Kasparas did in last 4 games. Second one is Trae Young.

So far I have to say KJ yet again exceeded my expectations. I thought it will be great if he will lock himself as some 18-14 pick guy. Now he's making silly trick passes, taking down step backs and playing like one of the best NCAA players as a rookie. He figured it out NCAA so fast and his developing rate is so crazy that after a month people may be speaking that he's already too good for NCAA. Unless he will hit some kind of wall. But with KJ it has been constant improvement.

https://x.com/OptaSTATS/status/1866712782928015614
 
Wow, massive experience for KJ against best team so far they faced Tennessee. That's the best defence and athleticism that Kasparas went on so far. They have the best defending guard in NCAA basically, all big and athletic. From highlights I see so physical fight. KJ turn the ball over a lot, heck of a school for him this game. He missed some bunnies, but also hit some big shots. 2 three and 1 shoots. He's getting there. Went to the FT line. What I liked the most he was the guy who fearlessly went to the cup in crunch. We need that kind of guard. He tied the game with FTs with 5 sec to to go, bet also the Tennessee game winning shot went through Kasparas hands, he couldn't make a winning stop defensively. I think Ivisic had to come help and lock the paint in that possession.

Defensively KJ makes some nice hustle players, but also lacks concentration. It's hard to say whenever he can reach complete 2 way presence cause when you play 37 minutes in super physical and intense game as a focal offensive player you barely can hustle in each and every play defensively. I like the upside of KJ's defense too. If he would be fully concentrated on D, I think he could evolve into elite defender. But that's not what he should be. He should be that offensive monster in the first place. I like that he's on attack mode now. We need true fucking scorers (KJ off course has everything and one of the most complete guards in the world) with scoring mentality. Enough of just pass first players or guys who don't want to score +20 each night. We need Kasparas to be +20ppg player. He brings that 5 straight games in a row.

Tighten up handles, avoid careless sissy passes, more focus defensively. That's KJs areas to work on, but the sky is endless for him. He is cementing himself into top 3 conversation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9aZMlN-jDA&ab_channel=BasketNews
 
Tennesse is national no1 team in NCAA at the moment. The only one to go 8-0. Previously they swept all their opponents at least 15+ or so. Best defensive team in the game probably. When you think about it, Jakucionis dropped 33% of his teams points against them. Dude has it and he could easily end up with 30pts game if some bunnies and one more three went in. He also missed 4 three throws. KJ usually is super aggressive when the game is tight, he would just spray the assists against soft teams in a blow out. I can really see few super big games coming for him this season, like 35-40pts games. When he will nail 5-6 threes, all free throws and also will finish high in 2s. He should unleash at least couple of monster games.

https://x.com/esperandomarzo/status/1868232314582618441

And for those who think Marciulionis is not good, watch this:

https://x.com/saintmaryshoops/status/1865580273347547383
 
Underwood said he gives KJ a Doncic treatment. It is really seen in last 5 games. He's taking 13,6 shots per game and in his last 4 he takes +15 shots. So he has a great light. Gotta love KJ's situation. There will be games when he will be less active or not. They nearly beat the best team in the country with him going hardcore.

"His maturity is the next play mentality," Underwood said. "He had kind of a goofy turnover the other night (against Wisconsin) where he jumped in the air and coughed it up. He has one of those a game. You just look like, 'What the heck?' It's the next play. It doesn't rattle him. It doesn't bother him."

I've kind of taken the Luka mentality a little bit," the Illinois coach said, referencing Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. "Luka's going to turn the ball over, too, but they're making so many plays. The thing with KJ is most of them are because he's trying to make the right read. What he sees is the right play, and I'm good with those."

https://www.news-gazette.com/newsle...cle_07bc59fa-b9ce-11ef-8ec5-ff0ad2898588.html
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OK, I unleash my final comparison of KJ. I see 3 people in him. He's the hybrid Luka, Bogi, Dragic. I see all three guys in him. Luka's step back and facilitation glimpses, Bogi's concrete universality/flexibility, Dragic' relentless motor and feet work.

Someone wrote "Kasparas Jakucionis is the LeBron James of Bogdan Bogdanović’s" and in a way it also makes certain sense to me.

Here's Tennessee assistant coach on KJ:

https://x.com/NathanielBorody/status/1866928946136355281

I hear people even mentioning Nash...but I'm not particularly see any of Nash in Kasparas. If he would be so obsesses with mid rage jimmies as Nash was...But he's not.
 
KJ big 10 player of the week. His name already thrown at 3 spot. To me it's like Cooper, Harper, KJ in this draft as top 3 picks. I didn't study other players very closely, but I kinda have this impression. Again, my take is that KJ is more special than Harper, even if worse athlete. Wouldn't be a shocker if KJ turns out to be the best player of 2025 NBA class.

Someone wrote (Conrado pascual) a very spot on comment "The manner in which Kasparas Jakučionis creates separation is arguably more impressive than the shots & assists themselves… Jakučionis has incredible strength below the knees. The degree of plantarflexsion that he achieves allows him to get more arc & torque on his shots."

https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketb...ras-jakucionis-3-khaman-maluach-4?key2=905920

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I still have no answer who will be better - Jokubaitis or Marciulionis. Literally.
 
KJ with six 20pts games in a row. And what's exciting he hit 2 big clutch shots leading his team to a win. He said he doesn't feel any pressure down the stretch. That fade a way mid range jimmy is deadly. He seems to provide more on more mid range jimmies that he didn't show much in BARCA:

https://x.com/bjpf_/status/1871279972981367188
 
Jakucionis put on a show again against strong team. He put 16pts, 6as, 6rbs all in second half. He can make an amazing spurts and played limited 22min. Young Jasikevciius had that cheakiness to make some fancy plays, but Jakucionis is on another level. I have to say we have to say thanks to Spanish BB school. If KJ stayed in LKL, he would probably be making screens and be a cautious crap (ok, ok, I'm exceeding cause Macas was cheaky even if he never played else where for a long time). But really KJ provides some silly passes, some mind blowing creativity. I watched him a lot and then I watched Zalgiris Lithuanians and I can't believe we have Kasparas. He's so amazingly good, so amazingly good. People call him NBA player this very moment. He became NBA ready being 18yo. He's that good and the level is surreal. He became consensus top 5 and more like he's locking himself at 3 spot for the most serious scouts. I just watch what he does on the court, his level of manipulation, skill and flexibility and I have hard time to believe we have this gem after this 15 years disappointing stretch of LTU basketball. Hell, I can't believe we have it overall historically. This is really surreal moment for me as NT and LTU BB fan.


https://x.com/JKnowsfootyy/status/1875047379852034196

https://x.com/CBBonFOX/status/1875042178831118524

That last dance, holly shit:

https://x.com/Recru1t1ng_Guru/status/1875060081638998159
 
Jakucionis in action. He's unstoppable playing with 2 shooting bigs. It's just clinics. He can find them rolling or popping and he can finish himself 3-level. Unstoppable. Too bad Lithuania doesn't have shooting bigs. One deadly shooting center would explode FIBA competition IMO. Having KJ operating with the ball, Buzelis at the wing, and shooting center would be literally deadly (specially with shooting wings filling the gabs as Sirvydis, Rubstavicius, Indrusaitis, Lelevicius).

At the moment, my main issue - the lack of true shooting center. Other than that, LTU has everything they need to start climbing up big time (starting with some 2028).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McMpWktRKJc&ab_channel=SublimeBasketball
 
Straight forward said:
Jakucionis in action. He's unstoppable playing with 2 shooting bigs. It's just clinics. He can find them rolling or popping and he can finish himself 3-level. Unstoppable. Too bad Lithuania doesn't have shooting bigs. One deadly shooting center would explode FIBA competition IMO. Having KJ operating with the ball, Buzelis at the wing, and shooting center would be literally deadly (specially with shooting wings filling the gabs as Sirvydis, Rubstavicius, Indrusaitis, Lelevicius).

At the moment, my main issue - the lack of true shooting center. Other than that, LTU has everything they need to start climbing up big time (starting with some 2028).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McMpWktRKJc&ab_channel=SublimeBasketball
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I haven't watched much of Jakucionis yet, and I don't like to label players as stars before I see them at PRO level, but I see that he is very talented, especially as off the dribble shooter. Very fluid and crafty step back or side step threes. As a passer, he is rather flashy than consistent. He can make some wow passes but not as a true floor general type of player. Another thing I noticed (from the small sample I've seen so far) is that his first step in not exactly all that impressive, could have troubles breaking first line of defense against serious defenders at PRO level. Seems like a solid finisher around the rim, even if he lacks vertical explosiveness. All in all, I get the buzz around Jakucionis, he could be the real deal and someone who could make Lithuanian NT competitive. I would like to see him playing at Eurobasket to get to know his game better, even if that is unlikely to happen. FIBA basketball is a real test, in college basketball there are like 80-90% players who don't make it at PRO level, so the real question for all those talents is whether they can make transition to senior basketball. In Jakucionis' case, he is the type of player who has to dominate to be successful, he won't succeed as a role player, so every aspect he is dominanting right now would have to translate to NBA or FIBA level to live up to expectations. That can be tricky sometimes.
 
Serbian_Layup said:
I haven't watched much of Jakucionis yet, and I don't like to label players as stars before I see them at PRO level, but I see that he is very talented, especially as off the dribble shooter. Very fluid and crafty step back or side step threes. As a passer, he is rather flashy than consistent. He can make some wow passes but not as a true floor general type of player. Another thing I noticed (from the small sample I've seen so far) is that his first step in not exactly all that impressive, could have troubles breaking first line of defense against serious defenders at PRO level. Seems like a solid finisher around the rim, even if he lacks vertical explosiveness. All in all, I get the buzz around Jakucionis, he could be the real deal and someone who could make Lithuanian NT competitive. I would like to see him playing at Eurobasket to get to know his game better, even if that is unlikely to happen. FIBA basketball is a real test, in college basketball there are like 80-90% players who don't make it at PRO level, so the real question for all those talents is whether they can make transition to senior basketball. In Jakucionis' case, he is the type of player who has to dominate to be successful, he won't succeed as a role player, so every aspect he is dominanting right now would have to translate to NBA or FIBA level to live up to expectations. That can be tricky sometimes.
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He still lacks core strength and upper body strength rn. He over dribbles and pick up his dribbles too often. He would be forced to take outside shots in the NBA rn and he is not ready to create those shots in the NBA. He is indeed very talented and I would take him to the NT too but hell struggle.

Now I understand why it was said that he might stay one more year in the NCAA.
 
SL, yes, it's interesting that KJ is better shooter off the dribble than catch and shoot which is very rare, like Harden comes as the best example first. For LTU is a blessing cause we need guys who can create their own shot. Jokubaitis is not very good three point shooter off the dribble, that's one of his weaknesses. I think KJ has the best step back three package after Doncic from white players globally. This weapon is deadly, it changes the game cause he can take a difficult three as a solid shot. Regarding play making, it was a misunderstanding previously that he is combo, but he is true floor general, extremely aggressive play maker who reads the game differently. He will turn the ball over (so I see what you mean), but even in those situation you get the idea what he tried to do. He can switch his focus from scoring to passing depending on situations, we will see 20 assists games in his career, he's that good. First step is indeed not overly impressive and biggest question is how he will finish inside in the NBA. Does he have enough burst and explosiveness to create his shot inside. I think he'll be fine cause he has good brakes and acceleration and all the manipulative moves, feel for the game. And he's special with screens. So there will be times when big agile athletic guards will lock him, but it shouldn't be his NBA career changing issue. Regarding him being dominant on ball or fail...I wouldn't agree entirely even if I also think that's the best situation for him and most natural since he was the main guy anywhere he played and always had huge freedom to lead the team, so he should look for lead guard role in the NBA. But the thing is he is good off ball guard too. He's No.1 option for Illini and he generates most of possessions, but he also plays nicely off ball when Kylan Boswell plays at 1, they kinda switch all the time naturally. That's why I say KJ has a lot of Bogi in him, he can play successfully on and off, but essentially he has to play with the ball as the guy to be in most perfect situation. His EB 2025 status is more like not available because of draft and our yet again "fishy" coaching staff.

One more thing has to be said about KJ. He's 6'6 which is great size for PG, but he has plus winspan. So when he gets inside, even with reserved burst and leaping ability, he still is tough to cover and he is good with deflections and rebounding because of long hands. This makes his profile even more intriguing.

Toruko, he became consensus top 5. I really don't see a scenario where he's staying.


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All the insane hype about KJ was spot on. No-one ever cared about Illini, but KJ was so good that people started to talk about them. And now he carried them to the point when they are racked top 5 in NCAA. He carried them to such heights through tough schedule as a freshman. Iowa State with Indursaitis are 7th so they are elite as well, but so rookie doesn't get PT. What KJ does is amazing. Only few freshman in last 16 years did what he does now and one of them "Lithuanian wanne be". It's really ironic. Srry, Russel we have younger version of you who will end up much better player in NBA and way bigger winner :P I love players that hear with whom KJ is compared: Doncic, Dragic, Bogdanovic, Nash, SGA. I warched SGA's 40pts game recently and I was surprised how much moves I see as KJ provides. I was really surprised. And then I remembered that he is always naming Luka and SGA when asked what players he study the most so there' no surprise. He steals everything from these guys.

https://x.com/JoeySmoke14/status/1875044324024697022

https://x.com/MarchMadnessMBB/status/1875299435460358389
 
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