Illinois is having a stellar season, and part of that has been the play of Keaton Wagler. Wagler was not projected to be a superstar at the college level.
Now, his rise to stardom is drawing comparisons to some stars of the past, per Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.
“He's one of the greatest stories in a long, long time,” Illinois head Brad Underwood said. “I had some guy tell me Tracy McGrady, 30 years ago, kind of showed up at a camp and blew up. That's what this is about.”
Pro scouts have also mentioned to Underwood some other star players as comparisons, such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, and Steph Curry. Still, all of those people had a much different rise to stardom. Still, Wagler was not someone who was even inside the SC Next 100 coming out of high school.
“There are several examples of one-and-done international players who weren't rated as SC Next 100 recruits and became NBA lottery picks because they didn't go to high school in the United States, but few Americans who weren't on that top-100 radar went on to crack the lottery. Since the 2008 draft, Dennis Smith Jr. (2017) and Bub Carrington (2024) are the only U.S.-born players to have made the jump, according to ESPN Research,” Rittenberg wrote about the rise to a potential lottery pick.
Wagler is averaging 18.2 points per game, while adding five rebounds and 4.3 assists. Meanwhile, Illinois is ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll and is 22-6 on the season.
“Everyone has their own past, no matter if you're the best player growing up or you're not, if you're a late bloomer. You work hard, you get better, and then you get to the point where you know you're as good as these players,” Wagler said. “It just shows that there's not one path. There's not a set way for you to go.”
Illinois and Wagler have a massive game on Saturday, as they face Michigan, which just secured a share of the Big Ten title.
