5 months from now, Illinois newbies Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley and Maryland rookie Derik Queen all may just listen their names introduced all through the primary spherical of the NBA Draft.
However because the Seventeenth-ranked Preventing Illini (13-5, 5-3 Large Ten) get ready to host the Terrapins (14-5, 4-4) on Thursday evening, all 3 phenoms are coping with the truth that no longer the whole thing will cross their approach always.
Queen, for instance, has did not hit double figures in 4 of Maryland’s six Large Ten video games this month after dominating all through the Terps’ 13 video games earlier than the brand new yr. On Sunday, the 6-foot-10, 246-pound heart controlled simply 3 issues in 27 mins in a 69-66 house win over Nebraska.
“I believe everyone simply must take a deep breath and understand he is a freshman going in opposition to fifth-year seniors,” Maryland trainer Kevin Willard mentioned. “He is as gifted of a participant as there may be and he’ll be in that three-letter league lovely quickly, however we are asking a freshman to do an entire lot in a league that is filled with fifth-year COVID guys, bodily guys.”
Queen enters the Illinois recreation averaging 15.1 issues and eight.1 rebounds in line with recreation, however the ones averages stood at 16.8 issues and eight.8 rebounds getting into January.
“He is fantastic. He will determine it out. He is a wise participant. He is taking part in a ton of mins… he’ll combat now and then,” Willard mentioned. “This league will make you combat. He understands that. And he is nonetheless taking part in excellent. It is simply his manufacturing goes to be a bit of down as a result of this league will make you do it.”
Jakucionis’ problems are extra injury-related and referee-related. He sat out two video games two weeks in the past — together with Illinois’ house loss to Southern California — because of tendinitis in his left wrist.
He used to be again at the ground for Sunday’s 80-78 loss at then-No. 12 Michigan State, however no longer for lengthy. The Lithuania local (15.9 issues, 5.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds in line with recreation) performed lower than 9 mins earlier than fouling out with 6:39 to play.
“The most productive participant within the recreation performed 8 mins,” mentioned Illinois trainer Brad Underwood, who termed no less than probably the most fouls whistled in opposition to Jakucionis as “gross.”
“You noticed just a bit little bit of what he can do when he used to be in. Simply managed the entire recreation with pick-and-rolls and passes. Sadly, he did not get to play. There hasn’t been one participant within the nation — or one workforce within the nation — guard him with any good fortune. He is a maestro. He’s totally other than any one else. Are not making any mistake. If he is not the most productive level guard within the nation, he is very shut. And he is 18 years previous.”
There used to be a silver lining to Jakucionis’ foul issues. Riley got here off the bench and poured in 16 issues in his first seven mins at the ground. The 6-foot-8 ahead completed with 19 issues, an enormous outburst taking into consideration he had controlled 28 issues in his earlier 5 video games.
Riley continues to be suffering to be environment friendly — he has hit 50 % of his photographs simply as soon as in his final 9 video games — however it is a get started.
“Will Riley roughly broke out of what he is been in,” Underwood mentioned. “He is a freshman. He is long past thru it. He is needed to undergo being on the best of the scouting record, which he used to be for a very long time, and lacking some simple photographs and discovering his approach. However he is were given that capacity offensively.”
–Box Stage Media
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