The Big Ten Conference announced its men’s basketball awards Tuesday, with three players from Illinois earning recognition for the 2024-25 season.
Freshman Will Riley (12.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.3 apg) was named the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. The 6-foot-8 forward, expected to be a first-round NBA Draft pick, is the second Illini to win the award since it began in 2006, joining Andre Curbelo in 2021.
Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis, a possible lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, was named third-team Big Ten All-Conference and to the league’s all-freshman team. The 6-foot-6 guard led Illinois in scoring at 15.2 ppg, along with 5.6 rpg and 4.8 apg.
Sophomore 7-footer Tomislav Ivisic (12.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg) was selected as an all-conference honorable mention pick by the media.
What seed will Illini get? Illinois basketball resume for March Madness ahead of Big Ten tournament
Illinois (20-11, 12-8) is the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament this week in Indianapolis. The Illini open play 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the second round.
Here is a look a the All-Big Ten award and honor teams for 2025:
2025 All-Big Ten Conference men’s basketball awards
Selected by both coaches and media, unless noted.
Player of the year: Braden Smith, Purdue
Freshman of the year: Derik Queen, Maryland
Defensive player of the year: Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Sixth man of the year: Will Riley, Illinois
Coach of the year: Tom Izzo
2025 All-Big Ten Conference men’s basketball teams
Selected by both coaches and media, unless noted.
FIRST TEAM
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Brice Williams, Nebraska
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Derik Queen, Maryland (coaches)
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan (media)
SECOND TEAM
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
THIRD TEAM
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Ja’Kobi Gillespie,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/illinois-basketball-players-fared-big-170614129.html
Author : Journal Star
Publish date : 2025-03-11 17:06:00
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