Chambana Sun

Illinois freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis has been named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List, according to an announcement by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) on Monday.

Jakucionis is experiencing a notable first season with the Fighting Illini, averaging 15.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game. He has achieved a shooting accuracy of 47% from the field, 35% from three-point range, and 83.5% from the free-throw line. The freshman has been honored twice as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week and has tied the University of Illinois freshman record with eight games scoring at least 20 points.

The USBWA's board of directors selected 50 players for consideration for the National Player of the Year award. The complete list includes Jaden Akins (Michigan State), Ace Bailey (Rutgers), Ace Baldwin Jr. (Penn State), Nate Bittle (Oregon), Johni Broome (Auburn), Lamont Butler (Kentucky), Walter Clayton Jr. (Florida), Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Eric Dixon (Villanova), Cooper Flagg (Duke), Keshon Gilbert (Iowa State), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (Maryland), PJ Haggerty (Memphis), Dylan Harper (Rutgers), Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State), Chase Hunter (Clemson), Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Ian Jackson (North Carolina). Other names on this watch list are Curtis Jones from Iowa State, Kam Jones from Marquette, Alex Karaban from UConn, Trey Kauffman-Renn from Purdue, Kon Knueppel from Duke, Chaz Lanier from Tennessee, Yaxel Lendeborg from UAB, Caleb Love from Arizona, RJ Luis from St. John's among others.

The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy will be announced during the NCAA Men's Final Four in San Antonio between April 5-7. The official presentation will take place at the USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. A final watch list will be released in early March for inclusion on USBWA's annual awards ballot.