How an Overlooked Recruit Delivered College Basketball Magic
Right around when Illinois basketball practice started, and I was trying to figure out who was who on the team, I had lunch with my wife near campus. As we were leaving, Keaton Wagler and a friend were walking in. I knew who he was. He knew that I knew who he was. We exchanged “bro nods” and went our separate ways.
My wife asked me who that was, and I told her it was Wagler, a freshman student-athlete on the Illinois basketball team. I told her we did the head nod thing, so we were basically best friends now.
She rolled her eyes, and I let out a small chuckle.
As I began learning about the team’s new faces, Wagler didn’t initially catch my attention. I knew he hailed from Kansas and hadn’t been a high-profile recruit. I also mispronounced his name as WAG-ler, not WAHG-ler, but that changed quickly once the season began.
I thought he was pretty good and would get more playing time as the season wore on. Back in November, I called him the “X-Factor.”
Wagler began the season in the starting rotation due to injury, but played defense and hit shots when given opportunities. He struggled at first, recording his first bad game in a loss to Alabama with 8 points on 9 shots. The UConn…
