CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis is on the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Men's College Player of the Year Midseason Team, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Friday.
Jakucionis is having a brilliant rookie campaign for the Fighting Illini, averaging 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on the season. He is the first freshman from a power conference to tally 15+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists since Washington's Markelle Fultz in 2016-17. Jakucionis is currently challenging for the Illini freshman scoring average record and has already eclipsed the UI freshman record for most 20-point games, with 10 so far this season. He also is a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, on the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List, named Midseason All-America Third Team by The Sporting News, and a unanimous Freshman All-America Team selection by The Athletic.
Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team
Ace Bailey | Rutgers
Johni Broome | Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida
Donovan Dent | New Mexico
Hunter Dickinson | Kansas
Eric Dixon | Villanova
Cooper Flagg | Duke
Keshon Gilbert | Iowa St
PJ Haggerty | Memphis
Dylan Harper | Rutgers
Chucky Hepburn | Louisville
Graham Ike | Gonzaga
Kasparas Jakucionis | Illinois
Tre Johnson | Texas
Curtis Jones | Iowa State
Kam Jones | Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton
Alex Karaban | UConn
Trey Kaufman-Renn | Purdue
Chaz Lanier | Tennessee
RJ Luis Jr. | St. John's
Ryan Nembhard | Gonzaga
Derik Queen | Maryland
Maxime Raynaud | Stanford
Mark Sears | Alabama
Javon Small | West Virginia
Braden Smith | Purdue
John Tonje | Wisconsin
Danny Wolf | Michigan
Zakai Zeigler | Tennessee
Jakucionis is having a brilliant rookie campaign for the Fighting Illini, averaging 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on the season. He is the first freshman from a power conference to tally 15+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists since Washington's Markelle Fultz in 2016-17. Jakucionis is currently challenging for the Illini freshman scoring average record and has already eclipsed the UI freshman record for most 20-point games, with 10 so far this season. He also is a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, on the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 Watch List, named Midseason All-America Third Team by The Sporting News, and a unanimous Freshman All-America Team selection by The Athletic.
Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Team
Ace Bailey | Rutgers
Johni Broome | Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida
Donovan Dent | New Mexico
Hunter Dickinson | Kansas
Eric Dixon | Villanova
Cooper Flagg | Duke
Keshon Gilbert | Iowa St
PJ Haggerty | Memphis
Dylan Harper | Rutgers
Chucky Hepburn | Louisville
Graham Ike | Gonzaga
Kasparas Jakucionis | Illinois
Tre Johnson | Texas
Curtis Jones | Iowa State
Kam Jones | Marquette
Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton
Alex Karaban | UConn
Trey Kaufman-Renn | Purdue
Chaz Lanier | Tennessee
RJ Luis Jr. | St. John's
Ryan Nembhard | Gonzaga
Derik Queen | Maryland
Maxime Raynaud | Stanford
Mark Sears | Alabama
Javon Small | West Virginia
Braden Smith | Purdue
John Tonje | Wisconsin
Danny Wolf | Michigan
Zakai Zeigler | Tennessee
