A Big Ten Coach Explains the NBA Draft Slide of Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis

A 6-foot-6 Lithuanian lead guard, Jakucionis was a consensus mid- to late-lottery projection in nearly every mock draft, yet he wasn’t selected until the 20th pick by the Miami Heat. 

Naturally, questions swirled around the cause of Jakucionis’ drop. And few are better equipped to answer those questions than those who scouted Jakucionis’ game intensely throughout l season: Big Ten coaches.With that in mind, an anonymous coach from the league offered his insights to ESPN:

“As the season went on and as teams scouted him, he kind of came back down to earth. … His stats tailed off the second half of Big Ten play, and he’s someone you could go at and isolate on defense,” said the coach.

All objectively true if you watched Illinois' games closely. And although Jakucionis’ late-season woes were well-documented, it still begs the question: What changed on draft night? None of this information was novel. So did the mock drafts just get it wrong?  We won't know until Jakucionis hits the floor in a Heat uniform. But that's why we watch, right?

NBA Draft night always features a certain amount of unpredictability, with drops, leaps, trades and everything in between. The bottom line is this: Jakucionis wound up at an excellent destination in Miami – and both the player and franchise should be better for it.

More From Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

A Look at Each Illinois NBA Draft Pick Since the Turn of the Century

Social Media Reacts to Illinois' Will Riley Being Drafted by Washington Wizards

Miami Heat Draft Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis: What He Brings