Keaton Wagler earns high praise from former Illini stars

It was extremely cool to see former Illini stars Will Riley and Kasparas Jakucionis return to Champaign for the home game vs the Indiana Hoosiers. Riley and Jakucionis were freshmen phenoms for the Illini and are both first-round NBA Draft picks for the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat, respectively. Both Riley and Jakucionis are starting to earn more minutes for their teams and are making an impact at a young age.

When they returned to Champaign, they were asked about the Illini’s impressive true freshman, Keaton Wagler.

I asked Will Riley and Kasparas Jakucionis about Keaton Wagler.

Riley: “When he came here last year, on a visit, I knew he was going to be special.”

KJ: “He’s doing amazing… I really love his game.” pic.twitter.com/Abn5Jjz85k

— Glenn Kinley (@glenn_kinley) February 16, 2026

Praise from former Freshmen phenoms.

Keaton Wagler has officially cemented himself as an NBA lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft. After his 46 point performance in Mackey Arena vs Purdue, Wagler has continued his strong play. In 15 Big Ten games, Wagler averages 21.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. On top of the impressive stats, Keaton Wagler is shooting 47.0% from the field and 45.2 percent from the three-point line. On top of making Illinois basketball history, Wagler has truly cemented himself as a candidate for Big Ten player of the year and Big Ten freshman of the year. In fact, some would even go as far as to say that Wagler is a candidate for the All-American teams.

In the past two years, Wagler, Riley, and Jakucionis were all stars of successful teams. After a long drought, it is great for the Illini basketball program to have representation in the NBA. It certainly bodes well for their recruiting efforts that the Illini can produce one-and-done talents consistently.

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