Illini basketball products Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley are just days away from becoming the first one-and-done draft picks in program history.
Jakucionis and Riley will both be in the green room in Brooklyn next Wednesday while awaiting their selections in the first round. Assuming both will hear their names called, it'll be just the third time ever that Illinois has had multiple first-round picks in the same draft — joining Deron Williams (3rd) and Luther Head (24th) in 2005 and Nick Anderson (11th) and Kenny Battle (27th) in 1989.
It will be a big moment for those respective players, their families and for the Illini program. Illini head coach Brad Underwood and other members of the staff plan to be in attendance. It will also give the Illini fan base new rooting interests at the next level, which has been a cool added dynamic in recent years with Ayo Dosunmu and Terrence Shannon Jr. being in the league.
Jakucionis is widely expected to go in the lottery, and that's held firm despite some late-season struggles at Illinois. He was once projected in the top five or six, but now, he's frequently in the 10-12 range in prominent mock drafts.
ESPN's Jeremy Woo joined The Drive with Tay & Piper earlier this month to discuss Jakucionis' stock and how he viewed his season in Champaign.