Thoughts on Rodney Rice, Derik Queen, and Kasparas Jakucionis in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament

March 14th, 2025

I decided to take the time to watch Derik Queen and Maryland take on Kasparas Jakucionis and Illinois in the 2025 Big Ten Conference tournament game that took place today, but Maryland got off to a fast start and routed Illinois to get a blowout win, and after Maryland’s tremendous first half, there was basically not much of a need to stick around for the second half. At the end of this game, Maryland ended up getting a 88-65 win over Illinois. Here are some thoughts of this game.

Maryland’s 6-4 sophomore guard, Rodney Rice had a tremendous showing in his team’s double-digit win over Illinois. He did an exceptional job of making threes, as he made them early and often, and he really excelled at making them off the catch and dribble. He also showed a knack for making corner threes, and he also ran off of a pin down to quickly make a three-pointer in the first half. He also showed off satisfactory playmaking skills as he passed the ball well, and he showed off solid court vision that allowed him to make passes off the dribble and find teammates on the move to set up plenty of scoring chances to his teammates.

Overall, Rodney Rice played terrific basketball, and he is an agile, skilled sharpshooter that did a great job of making shots, and he also showed the potential to excel as a movement shooter at higher levels, which could enable him to end up being a solid role player in the NBA.

Derik Queen also had a very solid showing to help lead his team to a win over Illinois. He is a strong, mobile big man that showed a knack for making high-motor plays to help his team on both ends of the floor, and he also has a fairly solid dribble game that allowed him to pull up to make a mid-range shot.

He is a solid passer for a big man, as he excels at making drive and kick passes to consistently get the ball to his teammates. Plus, he also rebounded the ball very well. He has a keen nose for the ball, and he was essentially like a chairman of the boards in this game. He also played adequate defense. Queen has good hands that enables him to get steals and was able to block a shot hard in the post, but sometimes he would play too aggressively and bite on pump fakes, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Derik Queen played very well, as he showed a knack for making very solid plays on both ends of the floor. He is a very skilled big man that passes the ball very well, and he could end up being a lottery pick in the 2025 draft.

Illinois’ 6-6 freshman guard, Kasparas Jakucionis also had a solid showing in his team’s tough loss to Maryland. He is a very skilled, flashy playmaker that especially excelled on offense and on the boards to help his team in this game.

Jakucionis is an agile, skilled playmaker that can score in a variety of ways. He is an aggressive driver that can quickly get to the hoop to draw fouls upon his defenders to frequently get to the free throw line. He also managed to score on a nifty tip-in while getting fouled after leaping up to get an offensive rebound. Plus, he also was able to make a couple of shots from the outside, as he was able to make a spot-up three, as well as make pull up jumpers from the mid-range, although he struggled to make those shots consistently.

He also displayed solid playmaking skills. Jakucionis showed a knack for making drive and kick passes to set up plenty of scoring chances for his teammates due to possessing good court vision, and he sees the floor well. Sometimes though, he would occasionally throw hasty passes or over-dribble that would lead him to commit turnovers.

Plus, Jakucionis did a great job of rebounding the basketball. He was basically like a chairman of the boards in this game, and he did an excellent job of hauling in boards, especially for a player his size. On the downside, he struggled to stay in front of opposing ball handlers. He would get great off the dribble by quicker players to allow scores, and he would give up too much space to allow opponents to knock down jump shots on him.

Overall, Jakucionis played very well in his team’s blowout loss to Maryland. He has been having a very good season, and he could end up being a solid complementary starter in the NBA, as he could end up being a likely lottery pick in the 2025 draft.

Will Riley had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to Maryland. He is a tall, skilled playmaking point forward that can rack up assists, and he can score the basketball in a variety of ways. Riley showed that he can make open threes off the catch, but he struggled to make shots consistently. After struggling to score in the first half, Riley did a much better job of scoring in the second half. He also was able to make some drive and kick passes to showcase his court vision, but sometimes he would throw hasty passes that would get intercepted.

He also rebounded the ball well. Defensively, he looked to be perhaps above average, and in this game, he was able to contest a three to force a miss. Overall, Riley is an agile, skilled swingman that has solid offensive skills, but he’ll need to be more consistent in games, but he could end up getting selected somewhere in the second round of the 2025 draft.

Maryland’s 6-1 junior point guard, Ja’Kobi Gillespie had a solid showing to help lead his team to a double-digit win over Illinois. Gillespie did a great job of making passes off the dribble to rack up assists, and he showed off a solid outside shot, as he especially excelled at making open, spot-up threes off the catch. While he did hit some tough shots off the dribble, including an acrobatic, reverse layup off of a baseline drive, Gillespie struggled to make shots off the dribble consistently. He also defended well. He would poke balls away to get steals, but sometimes his tendency to try to do so would lead him to commit reach-in fouls.

Overall, Gillespie had a solid showing in his team’s win over Illinois, and he is a second round prospect that projects to be a solid, game managing point guard at the NBA level.

Maryland’s 6-6 senior swingman, Jordan Geronimo played very well to help his team get a double-digit win over Illinois. He is an athletic, energetic player that especially played well in the first half. He excelled at making shots from the outside, and he also excelled as a finisher around the basket. Geronimo showed that he can make jumpers off the catch, and he also was able to throw down a powerful dunk around the basket. He also showed a good scoring touch when he would look to finish plays at the rim.

He also rebounded and defended well. He would poke balls and get his hands on passes to get numerous steals on the defensive end. On the downside, he would sometimes play too aggressively and commit over the back fouls when going for rebounds, which would lead him to be a bit foul prone.

Overall, Jordan Geronimo played very well, and his strong play, especially in the first half was instrumental in helping Maryland get a big win today. On the season, he hasn’t looked to take many threes and he hasn’t played very much, so he’ll likely need to spend some time in the G-League or overseas to hone his game before he ends up competing for a shot in the NBA. That said, he’s an athletic, energetic forward that has shown enough promise to be able to compete for a roster spot in the NBA someday, especially if he can continue to work hard to hone and develop his game.

Morez Johnson Jr. had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to Maryland. He is an athletic, energetic big man that excelled as a shot blocker, and his athleticism, timing, and instincts would allow him to hustle to swat shots off the dribble to help his team protect the paint. Plus, he also rebounded the ball very well.

Offensively, he was able to get a running start to get the ball, which allowed him to drive to the hoop and use a pump fake to score around the basket. He also is an unselfish player that will make the extra pass to set up scores for his teammates. However, he had trouble finishing plays in traffic, and he would sometimes throw hasty passes or struggle to protect the basketball, which would lead him to commit turnovers.

Overall, Johnson is an athletic, undersized big man that excelled as a rebounder and shot blocker in this game. He has a bright future ahead of him. He’ll need to expand his range and skill set offensively, but he is a second round prospect that could end up being a solid rotational big man in the NBA.

Julian Reese had his ups and downs in his team’s win over Illinois. He was able to show some quickness and strength to score off the dribble and out of the post on power moves, but he also struggled with his touch at times when he would look to score from the block. He also didn’t take many shots overall, because he was plagued by early foul trouble, which made it difficult to get into a rhythm in the first half.

Still, he showed that he can mix it up in the paint to score, and he was active as a rebounder and defender. Overall, Reese will need to add a reliable jump shot to his arsenal, but he is a second round prospect that could rely on his production and ability to make shots combined with having above average athleticism to find a way to make it to the NBA someday.

Tomislav Ivisic didn’t play very well in his team’s loss to Maryland. While he did make a three-pointer in this game, he didn’t take many shots nor make them efficiently, as he would tend to miss quick threes when he would hoist them up. He’s an unselfish player that will look to find the open man, but he would tend to force passes into tight windows, which would lead him to getting intercepted by defenders.

He did rebound the ball well, and Ivisic was able to make an impressive block to get a stop on the break once, as he would look to actively defend in the paint. However, he would sometimes play too aggressively or get overpowered other times, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, this wasn’t Ivisic’s best game, but he is a skilled big man that is known for his passing skills and outside shot. He is a second round prospect, and while he will need to be a more disciplined defender in games, his emerging offensive game could enable him to be a solid rotational big man in the NBA.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Rodney Rice, Derik Queen, Kasparas Jakucionis, and other various prospects fared in this game. Also, Kylan Boswell really needs to improve his jump shot, and knowing that he has made less than a quarter of his threes this season, it was incredibly annoying to know that he would be hesitant to take threes, and that he could not make any of them, as this allowed Maryland’s defenders to back off him and dare him to shoot, which is all the more infuriating, because he predictably ended up having a bad shooting night. Boswell doesn’t have elite foot speed nor has elite size for a guard, so he will really need to improve his jump shot to be a more dynamic playmaker on offense. Anyways, that is all for now, and thanks for reading.