It’s the oldest play in the book.
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.
But against SIU-Edwardsville at Champaign’s State Farm Center on Friday, not only did he hit the high note in Illinois’ opening stanza, he also made it part of a performance piece that has never been rivaled within the program: a freshman single-game record-tying 12 assists.
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.
From there, Humrichous drifted backwards, popping behind the 3-point arc on the left wing, while Jakucionis grabbed the handoff from Ivisic, took one dribble and angled sharply down and away toward the right corner. By now, Jakucionis’ defender, Cougars guard Desmond Polk, had been left high and behind the play, first bumped slightly off course by Humrichous’ screen and then neutralized completely by the 7-foot Ivisic based on Jakucionis’ excellent angle and spacing after receiving the ball.
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 (a pro move out of screen-and-roll), wiping Polk out of the play completely and finding no defensive help between him and the rim and dove – hard. Cue the crescendo!
Ivisic starts it off for @IlliniMBB 🙌#B1GMBBall on Peacock 💻 pic.twitter.com/LcHugufxMK
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 9, 2024
At this point, it was pitch-and-catch for the Illini point guard-center duo. Jakucionis pulled up, turned back toward the paint and slipped a two-handed bounce pass under Sakenis’ outstretched arm and on point into the paint for Ivisic to gather, spring and hammer home a dunk to open the scoring and set the tone for what the next 40 minutes would look like for the Cougars.
The beauty of the play was in both its design and execution. With guards Tre White and Kylan Boswell – both 3-point shooting threats – spotting up in the corners, there would be no rotation help coming from SIUE at the rim. And after Humrichous – the most dangerous of Illinois’ excellent perimeter shooters – popped, he left his own defender, guard Ray’Sean Taylor with an impossible choice: leave Humrichous open to dig and try to make a long-shot play on the roll pass from behind or leave Ivisic with a clean runway and a cleared-for-takeoff invitation to the basket. You saw for yourself how it worked out.
The angles and distances will change slightly against the Alabamas, Dukes and Purdues that Illinois will face over the remainder of the season. But SIUE – with good size and athleticism for a mid-major – offered a reasonable example of the looks Illinois will be working against in these situations in 2024-25. On the nights when their timing is right and all the players are in sync, the Illini appear to have a world-class conductor in Jakucionis to bring the symphony together and create something special.
