2025 NBA Draft evaluation: Labaron Philon's duel vs Kasaparas Jakucionis and Will Riley
Evaluating NBA draft prospects early in the college season can be a challenge. Most teams schedule low-level opponents, making it difficult to parse out what a player can do given the competition level. How should we value a player scoring a bunch against a terrible college team?
Sprinkled throughout those games are a few early-season gems like 8-ranked Alabama’s 100-87 win over 25-ranked Illinois on November 20. Beyond the obvious implications of college basketball, this game featured plenty of prospects, ranging from potential stars to fringe pieces.
Notably, the game featured three possible freshmen lottery picks — Alabama guard Labaron Philon and Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis and guard/wing Will Riley. There are quite a few other future NBA hopefuls from the game (Mark Sears, Derrion Reid, Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson, Ben Humrichous, Kylan Boswell, etc) but we’ll focus on these lottery talents.
Elite prospect matchups don’t happen often in college basketball, especially in the same position. Philon, Jakucionis and Riley all interacted plenty, with the Bama guard getting the best of his opponents. Philon, who dominated on defense all night, finished the game with 16 points (7/13), 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block.
Labaron Philon short scouting report
Philon has established himself as a critical contributor in Alabama’s offensively-slanted backcourt. He’s one of the best defensive prospects in the class, winning on and off of the ball. At 6’4 with a wingspan that appears long on tape, Philon is an on-ball pest. He won quite a few times against Jakucionis and Riley guarding the ball.
The first clip above features Philon ripping Jakucionis for an easy score. His quick, active hands force ballhandlers to proceed with caution, even if Philon sometimes gets caught gambling. By my tracking, Jakucionis shot 1-3 with Philon as his primary defender as well as the turnover seen above.
His low center of gravity lets Philon maintain an explosive position while holding his strength and position. Philon will jump passing lanes out of nowhere for steals and rotate to block shots, showcasing a full NBA-level defensive package.
Philon stymied Riley on quite a few drives, showcasing his absurd lateral mobility, strength and recovery tools. Riley, who struggles athletically given his slight frame and lack of burst, couldn’t blow past or muscle through Philon at all in this game.
Will Riley short scouting report
That isolation scoring will be key for the 6’8 Riley, who makes most of his money as a three-point shooter. As we can see in the clips above, his lack of burst and strength limits him against excellent defenders. He’s been solid at the hoop this year, but Riley is shooting a frigid 3-19 on non-rim two-pointers.
Still, Riley managed 18 points (6/12), 9 rebounds and 4 assists against Alabama. Shooting is Riley’s standout skill; few 6’8 wings boast the touch, range and shooting versatility that Riley does. He’s liable to pull from anywhere, feathering in shots despite extremely wonky shot mechanics. That size and touch suggest serious shooting upside even if he’ll need quite a bit of development physically.
He flashed a bit of passing skill too, another key weapon playing off of Riley’s shooting. When defenders take away Riley’s 3-point shooting, he’ll need his playmaking as a counter. Against Illinois, Riley flashed his pick-and-roll passing chops, leading the roller into space for an open shot at the rim. Towards the end of the game, Riley drove to the hoop and dropped the ball off for another easy rim attempt.
Kasparas Jakucionis short scouting report
While Riley has some passing juice, he pales in comparison to his teammate Kasparas Jakucionis. He’s one of the draft’s best passers, tossing six assists against Alabama. Aside from the assists, Jakucionis added 15 points (6/13), 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
Jakucionis began the game by making a number of impressive plays as a ballhandler. He wrapped a pass around to his big with his weak left hand on a drive. He’s an unbelievably manipulative player, faking out defenders with his eyes, body language and pacing.
Check out this unbelievable assist, where Jakucionis wrapped the ball around his back out for a 3-pointer. Jakucionis tallied 6 turnovers as well in this game as he’ll try some ambitious passes that don’t always succeed. This is very common for young handlers, though, and the positive moments are well worth the bumps in the road for Jakucionis.
To begin the season, Jakucionis has been quite passive offensively, which isn’t inspiring for his future as a primary ballhandler at the NBA level. Even elite passers need to threaten defenses as a scorer to reach their ceilings. He’s averaging just 5.8 field goal attempts per game, attempting 10 total shots in his three first games before the Illinois contest.
Jakucionis has been a stellar off-dribble three-point shooter in the past, even if his volume so far his low. That off-dribble shooting, which Jakucionis flashed in the clips above, will be critical for his NBA future. Elite pull-up shooting and playmaking often harmonize to help players develop into stars.
His struggles as a vertical athlete can limit Jakucionis at the basket, as he made 3 of his 6 rim attempts in this game. His excellent foul drawing does make up for this to some extent; Jakucionis averages 5.8 free throws per game, good for an absurd 1.0 free-throw rate. His foul drawing numbers should dip back to earth, but his craft and size will help him live at the line.
Final thoughts on 3 potential lottery prospects
He and Riley both will need physical development to hold up on defense. They both struggle immensely with screens, unable to muscle through picks and remain in plays. Riley will need to add the most muscle, as even college athletes easily overwhelm him given his lack of strength and balance on his feet.
Similar to Jakucionis, Philon is a highly manipulative passer with some scoring struggles of his own. Jakucionis and Riley are both developing defenders, especially on the ball, unlike Philon. But Philon processes the game like a pro already, making quick decisions on or off of the ball.
He’s incredibly skilled as a passer, capable of passing with both hands all over the floor. Philon’s pacing with the ball, often keeping defenders in jail and waiting for openings, only magnifies his passing skill and vision. Philon’s shooting will be a swing skill — he’s made 4 of his 13 3-point attempts this season.
If Philon can improve his jumper, he boasts some offensive initiator potential. Philon is fast with the ball and is capable of generating paint touches at will. Pair that with his passing goodness and defensive stopping and we arrive at a player worthy of lottery consideration. Through Alabama’s first stretch of the season, Philon has arguably been their best player, something most high-major freshmen cannot claim.
All three of Philon, Jakucionis and Riley showcased their strengths and weaknesses in this game. They’re all high-ceiling talents in their own ways. Jakucionis sports the most primary ballhandling upside, Philon’s two-way game pops most and Riley is the scorer of the bunch. We’ll keep a close eye on all three of these freshmen as the season progresses and the 2025 draft approaches.