No.10 Illinois basketball is coming off a hard 95-94 OT loss to UCLA. A game in which freshman guard Keaton Wagler had to be taken out due to a shoulder injury.
Recently, head coach Brad Underwood came to Wagler's defense amid critics who question his skill based on physical attributes, per Adam Rittenburg of ESPN.
“I'm tired of hearing about his high school [recruiting] ranking, I'm tired of hearing about he's 170 pounds when he got here, and he's physically skinny and weak,” Underwood told ESPN. “He's none of those things anymore. If the story is that everybody missed on him, we didn't. I'm tired of hearing that, too. We found him. He fit us.
“This is what college sports is all about, this type of situation.”
Currently, Wagler is averaging 18.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game over 28 games. Additionally, he is shooting 45.6% from the field and 42% from the 3-point line.
The Illini stand at 22-6 and are 13-4 in the Big Ten. On Friday, Illinois will play at home against No.3 Michigan. Afterward, they will remain at home to play against Oregon on Mar. 3.
Finally, Illinois will close out the regular season against Maryland on Mar. 8. After that, the Big Ten Tournament is slated to begin Mar. 10-15 at the United Center in Chicago.
In 2024, the Illini won the Big Ten Tournament 93-87 over Wisconsin in Minneapolis.
Wagler came to Illinois as a four-star recruit from Shawnee, Kansas. He was the No. 25-ranked shooting guard in the nation. Also, Wagler was the No. 1 player in Kansas according to 247Sports.
