NBA Draft

#51      
pruman91
Fly Illini Fly! said:
#4 in brand new CBS mock:

www.cbssports.com

2026 NBA Mock Draft: Kansas' Darryn Peterson goes No. 1 ahead of BYU's AJ Dybantsa, Duke's Cameron Boozer

Peterson is the top pick in Gary Parrish's mock draft
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
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Mikel Brown jr to the Bulls @ # 9..................hells yeah.............

Bennett Stirtz @ # 13...............wayyyy overrated in my opinion...............never stood out to me in the numerous idiots games I watched this year as being a lottery pick.........
 
#52      
ChiefGritty
Illiniguy13 said:
This convo comes up every single year - scouts care very little about young prospects not being physically developed at 18/19 years old.
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True, and that's why I mention that being more "fixable" than KJ's decision making wobbles. But the question with Wagler is whether the overall physical package is going to play down against NBA athleticism and explosiveness.

I want to be clear, I 100% buy Wagler as an NBA player and a potential NBA star. And while the KJ story at Illinois ended on a quiet note, I still hold out hope that Wagler has a further surge in him that would cement him in the top 5 of the draft.

But what we've seen in the past month or so would not leave me surprised at all if he drifts to the late lottery or even outside of it. We haven't seen Haliburton Jr. in awhile. We're gonna need Haliburton Jr. to make a Final Four.

(I am conflating college team success with draft stock in the above, which is a cardinal sin, but in this case I think there is a likely correlation between the two. Wagler looks like an NBA player when he's getting where he wants to go on the floor, and when he gets where he wants to go on the floor our offense is unstoppable.)
 
#53      
Illiniguy13
ChiefGritty said:
True, and that's why I mention that being more "fixable" than KJ's decision making wobbles. But the question with Wagler is whether the overall physical package is going to play down against NBA athleticism and explosiveness.

I want to be clear, I 100% buy Wagler as an NBA player and a potential NBA star. And while the KJ story at Illinois ended on a quiet note, I still hold out hope that Wagler has a further surge in him that would cement him in the top 5 of the draft.

But what we've seen in the past month or so would not leave me surprised at all if he drifts to the late lottery or even outside of it. We haven't seen Haliburton Jr. in awhile. We're gonna need Haliburton Jr. to make a Final Four.

(I am conflating college team success with draft stock in the above, which is a cardinal sin, but in this case I think there is a likely correlation between the two. Wagler looks like an NBA player when he's getting where he wants to go on the floor, and when he gets where he wants to go on the floor our offense is unstoppable.)
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It probably will in his first few years in the league. I still think it’s a bit of a “so what.” We just watched Yaxel Lendeborg—a 6'9", fully grown NBA-type body play really strong defense on Keaton, and he still ended up with 23/4/3. Maybe I’m looking at it the wrong way, but from my armchair-scout perspective that just makes me think: “Alright, that’s what it looks like when NBA length gets thrown at him.” Give him a few years and another 30 pounds, and he’ll be more than fine.
 
#54      
thefalcon5
Keaton has surpassed any former Illini in the stealthy box score games.

It’s hard to articulate how good he is in between the margins. I don’t think he ever becomes an NBA star but his impact to winning is severely understated watching his game. Whatever team drafts him is getting a flat out winner. If he falls out of the top 5 he’s officially a steal.

Boozer Dybansta Peterson Wilson Wagler should be the top 5. I’d probably pick that as the order, but that’s only because I think Peterson is a bust and Boozer has a similar winning aura around him as Keaton.
 
#55      
illini55
thefalcon5 said:
Keaton has surpassed any former Illini in the stealthy box score games.

It’s hard to articulate how good he is in between the margins. I don’t think he ever becomes an NBA star but his impact to winning is severely understated watching his game. Whatever team drafts him is getting a flat out winner. If he falls out of the top 5 he’s officially a steal.

Boozer Dybansta Peterson Wilson Wagler should be the top 5. I’d probably pick that as the order, but that’s only because I think Peterson is a bust and Boozer has a similar winning aura around him as Keaton.
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We may never again see the top 9 projected picks all be freshmen, with none from overseas. Crazy.
 
#56      
ChiefGritty
illini55 said:
We may never again see the top 9 projected picks all be freshmen, with none from overseas. Crazy.
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If foreign players who play college basketball count as not "from overseas", that was all of the top 8 and 12 of the top 15 last year.
 
#57      
Illinicpa14
The negative things on KW are almost laughable. There has been no drop-off

He goes 19/8/6 and scored a go ahead bucket with 4 seconds against UCLA and 24/3/4 vs the best team in the country; and id probably say he didn’t play “good” in either game.

His “bad game” against USC we demolished them and he also scored 34 with 7 assists against Wisconsin.

Thats the last 3 weeks of play.

On top of it all, he’s been in foul trouble I think 1 time the past 10-15 games; so he doesn’t even do the stupid stuff KJ did getting goated into fouls; the maturity and improvement is off the charts.

What more do you want from the guy? Hes not gonna average 30 points on 70% shooting a night.
 
#58      
Oracle21
thefalcon5 said:
Boozer Dybansta Peterson Wilson Wagler should be the top 5. I’d probably pick that as the order, but that’s only because I think Peterson is a bust and Boozer has a similar winning aura around him as Keaton.
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I agree. If I was only picking upside (as in who could reach the highest peak), I’m taking a 6’6 Steph Curry at #2. I’d only put Boozer ahead of Wagler bc I think there’s less risk with Boozer bc he’s already very well developed. I think Boozer could immediately be close to Jayson Tatum level if you put him on an NBA roster. Wagler will take a couple years to get fully to elite level much like Steph did.

I’d take Wagler over Dybantsa. Everytime I see Dybantsa he reminds me of Harrison Barnes. He’s very rigid. I don’t think he will be more than just a solid starter at that level.

I’d take Wagler over Caleb Wilson mainly bc I don’t like taking PFs high in the draft anyway. I want guys with the ball in their hands as creators first

Peterson is a wild card. He could be Anthony Edwards or he could end up Markelle Fultz. I wouldn’t gamble that with a high pick so I’d also take Wagler over him
 
#60      
Calvin
Fly Illini Fly! said:
And KW can’t?

46pts — AT Mackey.

23pts in 2H — AT Nebraska.

Two top 5 opponents (at the time).

Also had 20 in 2H @Northwestern.
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At a glance, I'd tend to agree that's a great counter example, but that was, by KW's own words, him taking what they were giving him. Can we point to him having an Ayo/TSJ moment taking over late in a close game? He's insanely good, even moreso when you consider how young he is. A soph or junior KW and I don't think I'm wondering if we have a late game closer. But several recent close losses makes me wonder if that's where this team will be vulnerable in the NCAAs. And to the topic of the thread, I think scouts like to see that as well --guys who have some alpha when the games on the line and the opponent is high level.
 
#61      
NarrowJ
Calvin said:
At a glance, I'd tend to agree that's a great counter example, but that was, by KW's own words, him taking what they were giving him. Can we point to him having an Ayo/TSJ moment taking over late in a close game? He's insanely good, even moreso when you consider how young he is. A soph or junior KW and I don't think I'm wondering if we have a late game closer. But several recent close losses makes me wonder if that's where this team will be vulnerable in the NCAAs. And to the topic of the thread, I think scouts like to see that as well --guys who have some alpha when the games on the line and the opponent is high level.
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So you're saying Keaton discussed the group of games listed by @Fly Illini Fly! and said those explosions were him just taking what they gave him? Could you post the quote? Honestly interested in reading him talk about those particular collection of games. Regardless of what he had to say about it, do we really think these performances (46 points in a game, multiple 2nd halves with 20+ points), are 'taking what the defense gives you'?

Anyway, Keaton has:

- Made the front end of a 1 and 1 with 6 seconds left vs Texas Tech to secure a 4 point win
- After a Tennessee 3 with ~3 mins left to cut lead to 6, very next possession he finds Ivisic for a 3 to quell any thoughts of a comeback
- After an Ohio State layup with ~2 mins left to cut lead to 3, very next possession he finds Ivisic again for a 3, then sinks the final FTs to seal it
- Capped off a 16 point second half with 4 huge made FTs in the final minute to seal win at Iowa
- After a NW 3 with ~3 mins left to cut lead to 6, Wagler scores or assists on 4 consecutive possessions to close out the game
- After a Purdue 3 with 45 secs left to cut lead to 2, Wagler hits a floater the next possession then makes 2 FTs to seal that one
- Had 8 pts and a steal in the final 5 mins to thwart a late effort by Nebraska

Footnote that we also shouldn't keep forgetting we were without Boswell, Tomi, or both Boswell and Andrej, in most of our close losses which absolutely matters too.
 
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#62      
IllinitripleJ
Oracle21 said:
I agree. If I was only picking upside (as in who could reach the highest peak), I’m taking a 6’6 Steph Curry at #2. I’d only put Boozer ahead of Wagler bc I think there’s less risk with Boozer bc he’s already very well developed. I think Boozer could immediately be close to Jayson Tatum level if you put him on an NBA roster. Wagler will take a couple years to get fully to elite level much like Steph did.

I’d take Wagler over Dybantsa. Everytime I see Dybantsa he reminds me of Harrison Barnes. He’s very rigid. I don’t think he will be more than just a solid starter at that level.

I’d take Wagler over Caleb Wilson mainly bc I don’t like taking PFs high in the draft anyway. I want guys with the ball in their hands as creators first

Peterson is a wild card. He could be Anthony Edwards or he could end up Markelle Fultz. I wouldn’t gamble that with a high pick so I’d also take Wagler over him
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I love Wagler but no way you take him over Caleb Wilson. He might end up the number 1 overall pick. Certainly top 5.
 
#64      
Fly Illini Fly!
Calvin said:
At a glance, I'd tend to agree that's a great counter example, but that was, by KW's own words, him taking what they were giving him.
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This is seriously an argument against Keaton?
Calvin said:
Can we point to him having an Ayo/TSJ moment taking over late in a close game?
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Lol what do you mean man.

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#66      
Hessel Blvd
Fly Illini Fly! said:
This is not close.

On March 4th last year, KJ had 97 turnovers for the season. Wagler has 52.

KJ finished the year with an assist to turnover of 1.27. Wagler’s currently at 2.48.

The shooting also isn’t comparable — Wagler is 42% from 3. KJ’s shot had really fallen off after that hand injury (finished the year below 32%).
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I think the 20lb difference should be mentioned too... certainly KJ had creativity, strength, and experience that Keaton doesn't...
 
#67      
AnnaMay
Im amazed that Yessoufou isnt top 20. Dude is a beast. The team that gets to grab him late will be lucky. Because of how bad Baylor has been, he has been overshadowed this year.
 
#69      
Illiniguy13
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
The Keaton takes are moronic. He is the absolute LEAST of our problems.

Very few reputable draft sources have him below 6, and I’ve seen as high as 4. Unless he flops in the tournament, there’s a 0% chance he falls anywhere near out of the lottery.
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Someday, Illinois will land the unanimous No. 1 NBA prospect, and there will still be fans insisting he should stay in Champaign another year to boost his draft stock.
 
#70      
Calvin
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
The Keaton takes are moronic. He is the absolute LEAST of our problems.

Very few reputable draft sources have him below 6, and I’ve seen as high as 4. Unless he flops in the tournament, there’s a 0% chance he falls anywhere near out of the lottery.
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Yeah, in retrospect I should have realized that on a message board it would get taken that way even though I'm talking about late game situations, where we have a decent sample. Somehow his position in the draft gets morphed into crazy talk, far from my point. I'll put that on myself for not taking more time to craft my post.

I'll reiterate, he's insanely good and been an absolute joy to watch. But that's fandom. When talking about whether he winds up among the very top picks of the NBA draft lottery, he's going to be scrutinized to a very different standard. His mocks could definitely fall --we heard the same pre-draft talk with several Illini in the pros only to see the guys who get paid to evaluate players for a living having different opinions.

Given you're not the only one reacting this way, I'll let the comments roll, but I did want to at least attempt to clarify that I'm talking about elite, top of the draft evaluation. And if you're willing to look at actual draft reports, you'll see comments about how he performs against athletic/high level defenses as a concern/weakness.

Thrilled to have him, and I hope he shines in the tournament. I think a run where he proves out some of the things you see in draft evaluations will get him in the top-5, but I think he also could fall. JMO
 
#71      
Illinicpa14
Calvin said:
At a glance, I'd tend to agree that's a great counter example, but that was, by KW's own words, him taking what they were giving him. Can we point to him having an Ayo/TSJ moment taking over late in a close game? He's insanely good, even moreso when you consider how young he is. A soph or junior KW and I don't think I'm wondering if we have a late game closer. But several recent close losses makes me wonder if that's where this team will be vulnerable in the NCAAs. And to the topic of the thread, I think scouts like to see that as well --guys who have some alpha when the games on the line and the opponent is high level.
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This is not meant to bash Ayo because that season he was an assassin all year in the regular season.

But we won a total of 1 tournament games that year (agree he got robbed the sophomore year). So it’s not like that recipe even worked.

TSJ had an incredible run, BTT and played well but look at those actual games; we demolished a 14 and 11 seed to get to the S16; then he did play amazing in the Iowa State game…but with his marquee play not even being offense, the half court steal to dunk with 2 minutes to go.
 
#72      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Illinicpa14 said:
This is not meant to bash Ayo because that season he was an assassin all year in the regular season.

But we won a total of 1 tournament games that year (agree he got robbed the sophomore year). So it’s not like that recipe even worked.

TSJ had an incredible run, BTT and played well but look at those actual games; we demolished a 14 and 11 seed to get to the S16; then he did play amazing in the Iowa State game…but with his marquee play not even being offense, the half court steal to dunk with 2 minutes to go.
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TSJ also missed way too many free throws in that ISU game (yes, he was phenomenal).
 
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