The Illinois basketball team made it to the Round of 32 last season before losing to Kentucky. The Fighting Illini were led by Kasparas Jakucionis, who at times seemed to be in a league of his own on the court. In the NBA Draft, he slipped all the way to No. 20, where the Miami Heat selected him.
He was considered the steal of the draft, but his start to the Summer League has not lived up to that expectation.
“In three Summer League games, it would be an understatement to say that Jakucionis has struggled. He's been extremely underwhelming and a near disaster, especially considering the hype he arrived with when the Heat selected him. So far, he's had more turnovers than field goals made in every game,” Michael Saenz wrote.
Jakucionis isn’t putting up the numbers expected of him in the Summer League.
“Through three games of Summer League, Jakucionis is averaging 4.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. The Heat point guard is 1/15 from the field,” Space City Scoops’ James Piercey wrote.
Jakucionis recently spoke about his slow start, attributing it to a rhythm issue.
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“I think I’m just not in a rhythm. I’m just trying to get back in a rhythm after all the process I had. So I’m just trying to get back to myself and just trying to execute as hard as I can. When I go to the court, I just give 100%. Even if I don’t do the best on offense, I try to give 100% on defense and just try to help the team to win,” Jakucionis said.
Heat president Pat Riley had some inspiring words for Jakucionis when they first met after the draft.
“30 years we’ve been able to do this but we have not had many like you. I’m saying that sincerely,” Riley said.
Jakucionis’ ceiling is very high, but right now he is experiencing some early lows. However, with Riley fully bought into him, he should feel at ease whether he is playing well or not.