Jason Jakstys is a story of development.
From the extremely raw prospect he was two years ago to the progress he’s shown since to the story that’s developed surrounding his recruitment, which ended Sunday with a commitment to Illinois, the evolution of Yorkvile’s 6-10 rising senior continues.
Jakstys joins Thornton’s Morez Johnson as a pair of complementing big men in coach Brad Underwood’s 2024 recruiting class at Illinois.
“When Illinois offered me I was super stoked,” said Jakstys, whose father Tom is originally from Champaign. “I grew up watching Illinois play. I guess you could say it’s always been a dream of mine to wear orange and blue and play for the Fighting Illini.”
Also, the Illinois coaching staff made an impression during the recruiting process.
“I built a fantastic relationship with their coaches, loved their coaching staff,” Jakstys said. “And it’s a big part of why I committed there. They believed in me even when I had bad games. They would call me and say, ‘Look, you didn’t do your best but you have to get back out there and do it again.’ I like how they believed in me.”
While a few high majors were poking around in his recruitment, Illinois was the one that was on him pretty early –– Jakstys visited the campus in January –– and the first that pulled the trigger after watching him at the Riverside-Brookfield Shootout in June and the one that was there throughout July.
Jakstys had a bunch of Missouri Valley Conference offers, including Illinois State, Drake, Indiana State and Valparaiso, along with several high-academic, low-major programs, but there is a symbiotic belief between Jakstys and the Illinois coaching staff about where Jakstys and his game is headed.
“The way I see it and the way they see it, I’m just getting started,” Jakstys said. “Right now I am playing against kids who have 30 or 40 pounds on me and holding my own. Once I get those 30 or 40 pounds, gain more confidence and become a better basketball player –– obviously it’s going to take a couple of years –– but once that happens I should be able to play pretty well in the Big Ten.”
That confidence and belief began for Jakstys, he says, when he started playing for Breakaway Basketball on the club basketball scene last March. After averaging 11 points, eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game as a junior for Yorkville, Jakstys made the move to Breakaway to increase his exposure and ramp up his development.
“Ever since I joined Breakaway I’ve become so much better, become a better player and gained so much more confidence,” said Jakstys of playing with Greg Ktistou’s program for three months in the spring and throughout July.
Throughout the spring and summer, while playing with Breakaway in AAU or with his Yorkville team during the June “live” periods, Jakstys flashed a high upside as a very skilled frontcourt player.
Jakstys may have only made nine three-pointers on the year as a junior, but as he’s become more comfortable with the speed of the game and getting his shot off within that in-game rush, he’s shown to be a bigger threat shooting the basketball.
Whether it’s stepping out and burying an improving three-point shot, initiating offense from different areas of the floor or beating other big men down the court in transition, Jakstys shows the type of offensive versatility that’s difficult to find in players his size. And while there is a lack of physical strength right now, he alters and blocks shots defensively with his size and wingspan.
When the competition level was raised while playing in the Under Armour Association Rise Division, his college basketball future became more clear for the skilled and gangly Jakstys.
“I always wanted to play college basketball, to be a Division I basketball player,” Jakstys said. “I just didn’t have any idea at what level. But I have always wanted to play at the highest level. With Breakaway I started to feel like I could maybe play at the high-major level.”