Kasparas Jakučionis
 |
 Kasparas Jakučionis at the 2024 U18 EuroBasket | |||||||||||||||
| No. 32 – Illinois Fighting Illini | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Point guard / shooting guard | ||||||||||||||
| League | Big Ten Conference | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 May 2006 Vilnius, Lithuania | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| College | Illinois (2024–present) | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2024–present | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Perlas Vilnius | ||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | FC Barcelona | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Kasparas Jakučionis (born May 29, 2006) is a Lithuanian college basketball player for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference.[1]
Early life and youth career
[edit]Jakučionis was born in Vilnius and started playing basketball in the youth ranks of Perlas Vilnius, a team affiliated with Rytas Vilnius. In 2021, Jakučionis joined the youth ranks of FC Barcelona. In the 2022–23 season, Jakučionis alternated between Barcelona's junior team and the club's reserve team in the Liga EBA. Jakučionis would be selected to the 2023–24 U-18 Euroleague All-Tournament Team.[2] He would also make his professional debut for the FC Barcelona first team in April 2023, in a Liga ACB game against Coviran Granada. Upon his debut, he became the third youngest player to play for the Catalans in the Liga ACB.[3]
On 28 May 2024, Jakučionis committed to play college basketball for Illinois under Brad Underwood.[1][4] FC Barcelona retains the player's rights upon a possible return to Europe.[5]
College career
[edit]| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasparas Jakucionis G |
Vilnius, Lithuania | FC Barcelona Bàsquet | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 28, 2024 | |
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports:
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| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 11 247Sports: 10 | ||||||
Sources:
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Freshman season
[edit]In his freshman season, Jakučionis earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice.[6] He made his debut in November 2024, scoring 11 points in a win against Eastern Illinois.[7]
Career statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
| Bold | Career high |
EuroLeague
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | Barcelona | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | — | — | 1.0 | — | — | — | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Career | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.000 | — | — | 1.0 | — | — | — | 2.0 | 1.0 | |
Domestic leagues
[edit]| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 |  Perlas Energija |
NKL | 1 | 12.6 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | — | 2.0 |
| 2022–23 |  Barcelona |
ACB | 1 | 0.5 | 1.000 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | 3.0 |
| 2023–24 | Barcelona |
ACB | 3 | 9.8 | .667 | .625 | — | 1.3 | 1.7 | .3 | — | 7.0 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Source: Illini land Lithuanian prospect Jakucionis". 28 May 2024.
- ^ "El azulgrana Jakucionis, en el quinteto ideal del ANGT". Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 26 May 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Kasparas Jakucionis, el tercer debutant més jove del Barça a l'ACB". FC Barcelona (in Catalan). 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Illinois Signs Jakucionis". Illinois Fighting Illini. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
- ^ "Jakucionis se marcha del Barça en busca del 'sueño americano'". Sport (in Spanish). 28 May 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ "Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis named Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Again)".
- ^ "Así fue el debut de Kasparas Jakucionis con la Universidad de Illinois". Sport (in Spanish). 6 November 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2025.