The NBA season gets underway in one week, and so far the NBA Illini are feeling very comfortable.With Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley being the two newest Illinois players to join the NBA, Coleman Hawkins signing an exhibit-10 contract with the Denver Nuggets, and Terrence Shannon Jr. continuing to shine for the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Illini are leaving their footprint early in the preseason.
**Kasparas Jakucionis - Miami Heat
**
Jakucionis has appeared in two games this preseason for the Heat, dropping 8 points and dishing out 10 assists in his first game against the Spurs, along with 2 steals. He added 2 points and 1 assist against the Magic. While it’s still early and the regular season is around the corner, the rookie should be seeing the floor much more often once the games start to count.
**Will Riley - Washington Wizards
**
After a slow start in his first preseason game against the Raptors, Riley managed 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Then he faced the Knicks. The forward looked extremely comfortable in his second game, dropping 17 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists shooting 63% from the field in 26 minutes on the floor. Riley has a chance to become a serious role player in Washington while they continue to rebuild.
**Terrence Shannon Jr. - Minnesota Timberwolves
**
We all know what Shannon can do, but he continues to remind us why he belongs. The second-year guard has appeared in all 4 preseason games with the Timberwolves, scoring in double figures in all but one game-where he was a point shy. One of his more impressive outings came against the Knicks, where he posted 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist while shooting 80% from the field. It’s going to be hard for Chris Finch to keep him on the bench this season.
As the regular season nears and college basketball returns, Illinois fans will soon find out which current Illini has potential to be the next one of these stars.