NBA Draft

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#26      
Fly Illini Fly!
Fly Illini Fly! said:
He’s #11 in Sam Vecinie’s latest top 100 (updated Jan 8th).

He’s the projected #18 pick on USA Today’s latest mock.

He’s the projected #11 pick on Bleacher Report’s latest mock.


www.usatoday.com

NBA mock draft: Where Darryn Peterson and others top picks might go

As we enter a new year, we shine a spotlight on the 2026 NBA Draft, which features a loaded class with multiple potential stars to enter the league.
www.usatoday.com

At this point in time, my bet would be no. He's probably above where Will Riley was projected at this point in time last season.
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ESPN's brand new mock released yesterday has him #18 to Miami:

www.espn.com

2026 NBA mock draft: New prospects among first-round picks

Which new names enter Jeremy Woo's updated 2026 NBA mock draft and who slid into the top 30 picks or out of the first round?
www.espn.com www.espn.com

"Wagler has been an irreplaceable player on a quality Illinois team, having a winning impact with limited high-level experience and putting himself on the map as a prospect. While still developing as an on-ball playmaker, his connective play and perimeter shotmaking (41.2% from 3), coupled with plus positional size, have put him in the first-round conversation. As a late-blooming prospect with obvious NBA appeal, the question revolves more around whether he is better off turning pro this year or returning to school and polishing his skills as a ball handler.

The Heat have been operating without a traditional lead playmaker and could benefit from adding a younger player to their backcourt with their selection."
 
#27      
logjam
Fly Illini Fly! said:
ESPN's brand new mock released yesterday has him #18 to Miami:

www.espn.com

2026 NBA mock draft: New prospects among first-round picks

Which new names enter Jeremy Woo's updated 2026 NBA mock draft and who slid into the top 30 picks or out of the first round?
www.espn.com www.espn.com

"Wagler has been an irreplaceable player on a quality Illinois team, having a winning impact with limited high-level experience and putting himself on the map as a prospect. While still developing as an on-ball playmaker, his connective play and perimeter shotmaking (41.2% from 3), coupled with plus positional size, have put him in the first-round conversation. As a late-blooming prospect with obvious NBA appeal, the question revolves more around whether he is better off turning pro this year or returning to school and polishing his skills as a ball handler.

The Heat have been operating without a traditional lead playmaker and could benefit from adding a younger player to their backcourt with their selection."
Click to expand...
Hmmm that would have him competing with KJ...
 
#30      
ptgrd23
Keaton appears to be better 3 point shooter, tighter handles, less turnover prone then KJ. I am not sure Keaton will be able to slow step pivot in the lane once he gets to NBA. Too many shot blockers lurking. However it is tough to put value on Keaton unflappable style.

KJ has a nice step back 3 and is excellent driving to hoop and finding the open man. Defense has room to improve. Very emotional player - complains a lot on turnovers and when fouls are not called. Good upside and loyal alum.

I think Keaton has a higher floor than KJ. No idea on ceiling. If Keaton adds 20 lbs and ability to lead fast break the sky is the limit.
 
#31      
BWA
ptgrd23 said:
Keaton appears to be better 3 point shooter, tighter handles, less turnover prone then KJ. I am not sure Keaton will be able to slow step pivot in the lane once he gets to NBA. Too many shot blockers lurking. However it is tough to put value on Keaton unflappable style.

KJ has a nice step back 3 and is excellent driving to hoop and finding the open man. Defense has room to improve. Very emotional player - complains a lot on turnovers and when fouls are not called. Good upside and loyal alum.

I think Keaton has a higher floor than KJ. No idea on ceiling. If Keaton adds 20 lbs and ability to lead fast break the sky is the limit.
Click to expand...
I think Keaton has a higher ceiling too. Imagine how much room he has to build muscle that KJ probably doesn’t have.
 
#32      
ChiefGritty
BWA said:
Imagine how much room he has to build muscle that KJ probably doesn’t have.
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That's an incredibly euphemistic way to say that Wagler is currently skinny as a rail.

KJ is the better athlete, which I think matters a lot here. I feel like if you look at highlights, his plays are ultimately going to stand out more and look more NBA-translatable.

What Wagler has is his incredible poise and game sense and beyond his years maturity. But again, we were very high on KJ in those attributes before he caught his wicked case of over-dribble-itis around this time last year.

The second half of KJ's season here left a bit of a bad taste in terms of how good of a basketball player we remember him as, but I think using that to ding his potential is an over-correction. He did remarkable things here.

Also, gang, our incentive here is to play DOWN Wagler's pro potential so we have some prayer of buying him out of the draft.
 
#33      
Calvin
ptgrd23 said:
Keaton appears to be better 3 point shooter, tighter handles, less turnover prone then KJ. I am not sure Keaton will be able to slow step pivot in the lane once he gets to NBA. Too many shot blockers lurking. However it is tough to put value on Keaton unflappable style.

KJ has a nice step back 3 and is excellent driving to hoop and finding the open man. Defense has room to improve. Very emotional player - complains a lot on turnovers and when fouls are not called. Good upside and loyal alum.

I think Keaton has a higher floor than KJ. No idea on ceiling. If Keaton adds 20 lbs and ability to lead fast break the sky is the limit.
Click to expand...

They're both really young and have a lot of potential. KJ looked good in his first start - 17 points, but he's on the bench and not getting a lot of tick from what I can see.
 
#34      
Fly Illini Fly!
ChiefGritty said:
Also, gang, our incentive here is to play DOWN Wagler's pro potential so we have some prayer of buying him out of the draft.
Click to expand...
IMO, there's quite a lot of value in producing 4 first round picks in 3 years.

Also, our goal is to win now, which should mean we want him playing his best basketball as the alpha on this team. If he's earned the status as a first round pick, I have no problem cheering him on in the league.
 
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#35      
logjam
BWA said:
I think Keaton has a higher ceiling too. Imagine how much room he has to build muscle that KJ probably doesn’t have.
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I like his ceiling too...your 2nd part just means he's skinny and KJ isn't...lol
 
#36      
Grandpa
ChiefGritty said:
That's an incredibly euphemistic way to say that Wagler is currently skinny as a rail.

KJ is the better athlete, which I think matters a lot here. I feel like if you look at highlights, his plays are ultimately going to stand out more and look more NBA-translatable.

What Wagler has is his incredible poise and game sense and beyond his years maturity. But again, we were very high on KJ in those attributes before he caught his wicked case of over-dribble-itis around this time last year.

The second half of KJ's season here left a bit of a bad taste in terms of how good of a basketball player we remember him as, but I think using that to ding his potential is an over-correction. He did remarkable things here.

Also, gang, our incentive here is to play DOWN Wagler's pro potential so we have some prayer of buying him out of the draft.
Click to expand...
Disagree

My take, KW is the better athlete, see steals and rebounds. KW is smarter, thus commits as many turnovers in 5 games as KJ commits in one. KW was thrilled to be offered by Illinois. KJ came because we had the most money.

Us playing down his greatness isn't going to fool the NBA.
 
#37      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Fly Illini Fly! said:
IMO, there's quite a lot of value in producing 4 first round picks in 3 years.

Also, our goal is to win now, which should mean we want him playing his best basketball as the alpha on this team. If he's earned the status as a first round pick, I have no problem cheering him on in the league.
Click to expand...
We're also not a poverty program that can't go out and land some fish. This isn't like Penn State with that big guy a year ago.
 
#38      
DReq
Image.jpg



This youngster was a pretty skinny freshman too. Just sayin.
 
#40      
logjam
ChiefGritty said:
That's an incredibly euphemistic way to say that Wagler is currently skinny as a rail.

KJ is the better athlete, which I think matters a lot here. I feel like if you look at highlights, his plays are ultimately going to stand out more and look more NBA-translatable.

What Wagler has is his incredible poise and game sense and beyond his years maturity. But again, we were very high on KJ in those attributes before he caught his wicked case of over-dribble-itis around this time last year.

The second half of KJ's season here left a bit of a bad taste in terms of how good of a basketball player we remember him as, but I think using that to ding his potential is an over-correction. He did remarkable things here.

Also, gang, our incentive here is to play DOWN Wagler's pro potential so we have some prayer of buying him out of the draft.
Click to expand...
Grandpa said:
Disagree

My take, KW is the better athlete, see steals and rebounds. KW is smarter, thus commits as many turnovers in 5 games as KJ commits in one. KW was thrilled to be offered by Illinois. KJ came because we had the most money.

Us playing down his greatness isn't going to fool the NBA.
Click to expand...
I'm just glad we're putting players in the league enough that we Can make recent player comparisons...
 
#41      
Chieeeeeeefffff
Grandpa said:
Disagree

My take, KW is the better athlete, see steals and rebounds. KW is smarter, thus commits as many turnovers in 5 games as KJ commits in one. KW was thrilled to be offered by Illinois. KJ came because we had the most money.

Us playing down his greatness isn't going to fool the NBA.
Click to expand...
Let's just ask Jeremy or Kyle to ask Kylan who's better 😉
 
#42      
grue2
Fly Illini Fly! said:
IMO, there's quite a lot of value in producing 4 first round picks in 3 years.
...
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Its not just 4 first round picks. Its some players ranked 100+ going in the first round, and a number of others "being close."

247 "HS" rankings:
Riley: 20
Ayo: 30
KJ: 36
TSJ: 127

Keaton Wagler: 150

Current G league players (45k/yr unless they get a 2-way which pays ~600k/yr):
Bezhanishvili
Dainja
Goode
Guerrier
Hawkins
Jones
Hill (predates BU)

Top EU leagues:
Feliz (Spain ACB)
Domask (German BBL)
 
#43      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Fly Illini Fly! said:
ESPN's brand new mock released yesterday has him #18 to Miami:

www.espn.com

2026 NBA mock draft: New prospects among first-round picks

Which new names enter Jeremy Woo's updated 2026 NBA mock draft and who slid into the top 30 picks or out of the first round?
www.espn.com www.espn.com

"Wagler has been an irreplaceable player on a quality Illinois team, having a winning impact with limited high-level experience and putting himself on the map as a prospect. While still developing as an on-ball playmaker, his connective play and perimeter shotmaking (41.2% from 3), coupled with plus positional size, have put him in the first-round conversation. As a late-blooming prospect with obvious NBA appeal, the question revolves more around whether he is better off turning pro this year or returning to school and polishing his skills as a ball handler.

The Heat have been operating without a traditional lead playmaker and could benefit from adding a younger player to their backcourt with their selection."
Click to expand...
Typography Number GIF by Kev Lavery

Protect Wes Anderson GIF by Searchlight Pictures

Deal Number GIF by Postcode Loterij
 
#45      
Username
Joel Goodson said:
Wagler up to 6th in Wasserman's latest mock:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2016508862409441538
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Great to see Keaton in the top 6 and well deserved.

I also saw that everyone in the top 11 is still a teenager. Thomas Haugh (22 y.o.) at #12 was also the only non-teenager in the top 15. I'm not saying that's good or bad. It just stood out to me how young the top half of the draft is projected to be.

KB is also listed and projected to go #52.
 
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#46      
Goillinikobd
ptgrd23 said:
Keaton appears to be better 3 point shooter, tighter handles, less turnover prone then KJ. I am not sure Keaton will be able to slow step pivot in the lane once he gets to NBA. Too many shot blockers lurking. However it is tough to put value on Keaton unflappable style.

KJ has a nice step back 3 and is excellent driving to hoop and finding the open man. Defense has room to improve. Very emotional player - complains a lot on turnovers and when fouls are not called. Good upside and loyal alum.

I think Keaton has a higher floor than KJ. No idea on ceiling. If Keaton adds 20 lbs and ability to lead fast break the sky is the limit.
Click to expand...
Repeat after me, he is 18 years old
 
#49      
New Creation
Username said:
Great to see Keaton in the top 6 and well deserved.

I also saw that everyone in the top 11 is still a teenager. Thomas Haugh (22 y.o.) at #12 was also the only non-teenager in the top 15. I'm not saying that's good or bad. It just stood out to me how young the top half of the draft is projected to be.

KB is also listed and projected to go #52.
Click to expand...
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