KJ was on every mock draft from the day he arrived.
Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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KJ was on every mock draft from the day he arrived.
False
Revisit the discussion here: https://www.illinoisloyalty.com/post/2025-nba-draft-thread.38882/post-2276188
And this from SI.com about our very own Buster:
www.si.com
6. Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois
Previous: NR | 15.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.8 apg
Wagler has gone from having just two high-major offers out of high school to being a potential one-and-done lottery pick. Since the calendar flipped to December he has been as good as any guard in the country, averaging 18 points, five rebounds and six assists on 46% shooting from three in six games since then. His feel for the game and ability to get to spots despite lacking elite burst athletically pops on film.
Ranking the Top 10 College Hoops Freshmen: Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa Battle for Top Spot
Both forwards are averaging 23 points per game and pushing for the No. 1 seed in the 2026 NBA draft.
www.si.com
6. Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois
Previous: NR | 15.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.8 apg
Wagler has gone from having just two high-major offers out of high school to being a potential one-and-done lottery pick. Since the calendar flipped to December he has been as good as any guard in the country, averaging 18 points, five rebounds and six assists on 46% shooting from three in six games since then. His feel for the game and ability to get to spots despite lacking elite burst athletically pops on film.
I would say he was on most boards most of the year...it seems like a trivial point...
Yes, that's what I am saying lol
Start of the year, they were maybe on a couple... but far from 'predominant' or 'unanimous' (whatever word was used... 'predominantly' it appears)
KJ kinda flew up the board really quick to like the 6-10 range and then fell back to the teens as he struggled after the wrist injury
Will was mostly absent from any mocks though, started showing up on more and more as the season went on
Keaton & David's rise is far more pronounced though
EDIT: My point does largely fail in its a comparison of draft stock (KJ & Will) vs just a freshman BPR leaderboard (Keaton & Mirk), idk maybe its still worth something
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Any insight into what's happening with Petrovic? I'm really surprised he hasn't adjusted yet but also that he isn't getting much of any discussion for how to maximize his role. We've heard he is lightening quick, Adriatic league MVP, great on p&r. Seems like he has struggled with the length and quickness of the BIG, and did not foresee Wagler doing so well at the point, but presumed he would be making strides by now.
From what I heard not yet and no timeline for his arrival.
This post made me think about the overall strength of our B1G road schedule. Using current KP rankings, the average KP rank for both this season and last is 46. It surprised me that they were identical, but this year's schedule is really getting dragged down by Maryland and PSU.
If I counted correctly, the B1G away record was 5-5 last year. All things remain, if we go 7-3 or 6-4 this year on the road, it seems like it would be a pretty B1G success! Keeping it to 2 losses would be astronomical. B1G basketball season rocks.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
A lot of discussion has been had regarding our team's strategy with shooting 3-pointers ... but look at our Power Conference games sorted by how many 3-pointers our opponents made.
Opponent 3-Point Performance ... Result of Game for Illini
8/38 (21.1%) ... W 73-65 at Penn State (Philadelphia, PA)
6/22 (27.3%) ... W 91-48 vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
6/22 (27.3%) ... W 81-77 vs. Texas Tech
6/20 (30.0%) ... W 75-62 vs. Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
9/28 (32.1%) ... W 88-80 at Ohio State
10/28 (35.7%) ... L 61-74 vs. UConn (New York, NY)
13/36 (36.1%) ... L 86-90 vs. Alabama (Chicago, IL)
12/26 (46.2%) ... L 80-83 vs. Nebraska
Shlt, man, forget making threes ... if we just avoid giving up 10+, we'll win the game! I know that might sound obvious, but we all know we will score the ball well most nights; we need to limit those open threes that our opponents seem to kill us with in our losses. There was so much talk about our FTs against Alabama (for good reason), but you can't let an opponent waltz into your Home Away From Home and rain down 13 3-pointers, many of which were wide open.
FWIW, here are our remaining opponents' 3-point shooting statistics per game up to this point in the season. As a reminder of the above, we are 0-3 when we let the opponent shoot 35% or better, and we are 5-0 when we force them to shoot worse than that.
Northwestern: 31.5% ... 6.2/19.7 per game
Washington: 31.8% ... 6.6/20.7 per game
Rutgers: 32.0% ... 6.3/19.8 per game
Maryland: 32.1% ... 8.3/26.0 per game
Wisconsin: 32.6% ... 10.0/30.7 per game
Minnesota: 33.1% ... 7.5/22.5 per game
Nebraska: 33.8% ... 10.3/30.6 per game
USC: 34.3% ... 6.9/20.2 per game
Oregon: 34.7% ... 9.2/26.5 per game
---35.0% Cutoff ---
Michigan State: 36.3% ... 7.8/21.5 per game
Michigan: 36.3% ... 10.0/27.6 per game
Indiana: 36.3% ... 10.5/29.0 per game
UCLA: 36.9% ... 7.3/19.7 per game
Iowa: 37.5% ... 8.0/21.3 per game
Purdue: 39.4% ... 9.5/24.0 per game
For reference, Illinois shoots 34.7% on 10.2/29.4 per game, putting us right in the middle of this group. Very irritating that Nebraska shot over 36% better than their average vs. us and made two more threes than they average per game, including a deep one to win it, lol. Cannot let them shoot that well if we will have a prayer in Lincoln!
Opponent 3-Point Performance ... Result of Game for Illini
8/38 (21.1%) ... W 73-65 at Penn State (Philadelphia, PA)
6/22 (27.3%) ... W 91-48 vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
6/22 (27.3%) ... W 81-77 vs. Texas Tech
6/20 (30.0%) ... W 75-62 vs. Tennessee (Nashville, TN)
9/28 (32.1%) ... W 88-80 at Ohio State
10/28 (35.7%) ... L 61-74 vs. UConn (New York, NY)
13/36 (36.1%) ... L 86-90 vs. Alabama (Chicago, IL)
12/26 (46.2%) ... L 80-83 vs. Nebraska
Shlt, man, forget making threes ... if we just avoid giving up 10+, we'll win the game! I know that might sound obvious, but we all know we will score the ball well most nights; we need to limit those open threes that our opponents seem to kill us with in our losses. There was so much talk about our FTs against Alabama (for good reason), but you can't let an opponent waltz into your Home Away From Home and rain down 13 3-pointers, many of which were wide open.
FWIW, here are our remaining opponents' 3-point shooting statistics per game up to this point in the season. As a reminder of the above, we are 0-3 when we let the opponent shoot 35% or better, and we are 5-0 when we force them to shoot worse than that.
Northwestern: 31.5% ... 6.2/19.7 per game
Washington: 31.8% ... 6.6/20.7 per game
Rutgers: 32.0% ... 6.3/19.8 per game
Maryland: 32.1% ... 8.3/26.0 per game
Wisconsin: 32.6% ... 10.0/30.7 per game
Minnesota: 33.1% ... 7.5/22.5 per game
Nebraska: 33.8% ... 10.3/30.6 per game
USC: 34.3% ... 6.9/20.2 per game
Oregon: 34.7% ... 9.2/26.5 per game
---35.0% Cutoff ---
Michigan State: 36.3% ... 7.8/21.5 per game
Michigan: 36.3% ... 10.0/27.6 per game
Indiana: 36.3% ... 10.5/29.0 per game
UCLA: 36.9% ... 7.3/19.7 per game
Iowa: 37.5% ... 8.0/21.3 per game
Purdue: 39.4% ... 9.5/24.0 per game
For reference, Illinois shoots 34.7% on 10.2/29.4 per game, putting us right in the middle of this group. Very irritating that Nebraska shot over 36% better than their average vs. us and made two more threes than they average per game, including a deep one to win it, lol. Cannot let them shoot that well if we will have a prayer in Lincoln!
Bigtex
- DFW
If I am reading your post correctly only Wisconsin shoots more 3s than Illinois
Wisconsin 30.6
Illinois 29.4
Indiana 29
Michigan 27.6
And Nebraska at 30.6 attempts per game.
And Wisconsin is 30.7 attempts per game. (HUGE difference
)
Here's the B1G efficiency margins through 20% of the season:
Notes:
- A 1.10 offensive rating for the league is insane. Offenses everywhere are efficient, but never have they been that efficient across the board. However, USC and Maryland still have terrible offenses.
- Michigan, Purdue, Indiana, MSU, Illinois, AND Nebraska are beating up the league thus far. Keep in mind, Illinois has better margin than Nebraska even including the Nebraska game. However, Nebraska has already played 2 games against the top 6 (and won both by a combined 5 points).
- Northwestern, PSU, USC, Maryland and Rutgers have offered little resistance thus far against the league. Particularly distressing week for USC, who went from safely in the field to blown out by Michigan and MSU and in trouble.
- If the top 6 keeps rolling everyone else, this could be a 7-8 bid league when all is said and done. Wisconsin, USC, UCLA, Washington, and even Ohio State haven't done much to secure their standing.
Notes:
- A 1.10 offensive rating for the league is insane. Offenses everywhere are efficient, but never have they been that efficient across the board. However, USC and Maryland still have terrible offenses.
- Michigan, Purdue, Indiana, MSU, Illinois, AND Nebraska are beating up the league thus far. Keep in mind, Illinois has better margin than Nebraska even including the Nebraska game. However, Nebraska has already played 2 games against the top 6 (and won both by a combined 5 points).
- Northwestern, PSU, USC, Maryland and Rutgers have offered little resistance thus far against the league. Particularly distressing week for USC, who went from safely in the field to blown out by Michigan and MSU and in trouble.
- If the top 6 keeps rolling everyone else, this could be a 7-8 bid league when all is said and done. Wisconsin, USC, UCLA, Washington, and even Ohio State haven't done much to secure their standing.
I think 9 in is pretty strong lock with a possibility of 10 for the league. there are so many Q1 and q2 opportunities that it will help against a mediocre big east or acc team
There are 7 teams in good shape right now. The top 6 and Iowa. Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin are among the last 8 in/first 8 out, and teams like Washington, Oregon, Minnesota and Northwestern need to suddenly get really hot to even get in consideration.
I think UCLA and Ohio State (barely) get in. and I think one of the other group may sneak a few big wins to get in (my wild guess is Washington). my assumption is that their is another really weak bubble like last year
Yeah my conclusion at first was that the B1G wouldn't get too many teams in compared to prior years, but it seems across the board this year the conferences are pretty top-heavy so it's a good year to be a mediocre team with tournament aspirations.
I think the correct thing to say would be they were on draft boards that mattered and nbadraft.net has been a known joke for 20 years.
Pre-season ESPN and SI (probably the two most main-stream sites) called both players first-rounders.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-b...ithuania-kasparas-jakucionis-commits-illinois
https://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospe...t-illinois-kasparas-jakucionis#inline-text-15
https://www.thechampaignroom.com/20...-riley-recruiting-big-ten-ncaa-brad-underwood
https://www.si.com/college/illinois...-2024-so-he-can-play-this-season-01j1384g258y
Anybody paying attention to real sources knew before the season started both these guys were one-and-done. The only place I saw the fantasy that either might stay was on this board. Everywhere else people would mock Illini fans for undervaluing their players.
I think the correct thing to say would be they were on draft boards that mattered and nbadraft.net has been a known joke for 20 years.
Pre-season ESPN and SI (probably the two most main-stream sites) called both players first-rounders.
Source: Lithuania's Kasparas Jakucionis commits to Illinois
Kasparas Jakucionis, a 6-foot-6 guard from Lithuania who is a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft, has committed to Illinois, a source told ESPN.www.espn.com
NBA Draft Scouting Report: Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis
Player Info Kasparas Jakucionis Guard | Illinois Height: 6'6" | Weight: 200 lbs 2025 Draft Age: 19.07 Prospect Profile Coming Soon… Highlights Draft Projectwww.si.com
Future first-round pick Will Riley commits to Illinois
Illinois’ highest rated recruit EVER.www.thechampaignroom.com
Illinois Commit Will Riley To Reclassify For 2024 So He Can Play This Season
The Illinois Fighting Illini will not have long as expect to see high-profile recruit Will Riley. Shortly after committing to the Illini on an Instagram Live s
Anybody paying attention to real sources knew before the season started both these guys were one-and-done. The only place I saw the fantasy that either might stay was on this board. Everywhere else people would mock Illini fans for undervaluing their players.
These are articles, not mock draft boards. One has KJ as "late first round" and a singular guy at ESPN had Will in the draft. So two people saying it is not "unanimous”, which was the original point that was made.
*Edited for accuracy
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So now that we are 20% of the way through BIG season, I thought I would assess the conference and our chances of winning. Although the bottom third has shown itself to be stronger than originally thought in my opinion, I do think the league is more top heavy such that I think the top teams will be able to stack wins. I can’t see the conference champion finishing with more than 3 or 4 losses. Which means unfortunately that the Nebraska loss really did put us behind the 8 ball as far as competing for the championship.
We’ve already dropped our home game so we have to win the rest of those. And I think we have to split @Iowa, @Purdue, @Sparty, and @Nebraska and sweep our West Coast road trip to finish 17-3. Doable, but not alot of margin for error. And I still think our schedule presents several opportunities to stub our toe, including the following in no particular order:
@USC/@UCLA - both teams have talent. West coast trips are always tough. Could really use Andrej having a big trip with a return to the West coast (I realize he’s NorCal but still)
@Northwestern - been a tough place to play the last 4-5 years particularly for us. They look to be a bottom feeder but are also plucky. Almost beat Sparty last night.
Vs Minnesota - we come out sleepy at all they will back cut us to death.
Vs Washington - Take a look at their roster. I’m not sure how they’re not better with all the talent they’ve stacked. A star frosh big plus 2 big wings that are Illini killers mean this will be a really tough matchup.
@Maryland - they look to be godawful but they will probably win at least 2-3 home games and our track record vs them is abysmal, no matter who the coach is. Plus we will likely catch them when Payne is at the peak of his powers, and I still think strong athletic 4s are probably our biggest kryptonite this year matchup wise.
If I had to guess we finish 15-5, maybe 14-6, 1-2 games out. We rue the Nebraska buzzer beater and probably one other stinker performance for coming up short. But if we finish in that range think we earn a top 3 seed.
We’ve already dropped our home game so we have to win the rest of those. And I think we have to split @Iowa, @Purdue, @Sparty, and @Nebraska and sweep our West Coast road trip to finish 17-3. Doable, but not alot of margin for error. And I still think our schedule presents several opportunities to stub our toe, including the following in no particular order:
@USC/@UCLA - both teams have talent. West coast trips are always tough. Could really use Andrej having a big trip with a return to the West coast (I realize he’s NorCal but still)
@Northwestern - been a tough place to play the last 4-5 years particularly for us. They look to be a bottom feeder but are also plucky. Almost beat Sparty last night.
Vs Minnesota - we come out sleepy at all they will back cut us to death.
Vs Washington - Take a look at their roster. I’m not sure how they’re not better with all the talent they’ve stacked. A star frosh big plus 2 big wings that are Illini killers mean this will be a really tough matchup.
@Maryland - they look to be godawful but they will probably win at least 2-3 home games and our track record vs them is abysmal, no matter who the coach is. Plus we will likely catch them when Payne is at the peak of his powers, and I still think strong athletic 4s are probably our biggest kryptonite this year matchup wise.
If I had to guess we finish 15-5, maybe 14-6, 1-2 games out. We rue the Nebraska buzzer beater and probably one other stinker performance for coming up short. But if we finish in that range think we earn a top 3 seed.
You’re misunderstanding the discussion, I think. The original comment was they weren’t “predominantly” on draft mocks. Then someone else stated “they were on every single mock draft prior to the season” which isn’t true. Nobody said they weren’t on any mock drafts at all whatsoever.
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lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
It’s crazy that the defense basically got worse game after game concluding in one of the worst defenses performances of Brad’s tenure against Nebraska, then flipped a switch and have been one of the best defenses in the country since.
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