Keaton Wagler is trending due to his remarkable performance in college basketball, specifically highlighted by his recent scoring of 46 points in a game against Purdue. This impressive achievement not only underscores his individual talent but also contributes to growing interest in his potential as a basketball player.
Media coverage has further amplified Wagler’s visibility, particularly with coverage from reputable outlets like The New York Times, which detailed his surprising rise from being considered a lower-ranked player in his class to potentially becoming an NBA lottery pick. Such narratives attract significant attention, especially among basketball fans and analysts who closely follow emerging talent.
The combination of a standout performance and the possibility of entering the NBA draft has generated considerable search interest, resulting in over 100,000 searches. People are eager to learn more about Wagler’s journey and the implications of his performances on his professional prospects.
Watch the Moment
Internet Reacts
L
All timer game. I can’t believe he missed 4 shots.
A
And one was an open floater and layup after blowing by his guy. Unbelievable game
J
He looked completely gassed at the end wouldn’t be shocked if he just didn’t have the legs anymore
T
He looked gassed with 10 mins left. I even wondered if Underwood would try to steal him some rest before one of the TV timeouts.
I
“He was out of gas” is sometimes just an excuse people use when their guy cools down, but in this case he had his hands on his knees and was walking around every chance he could get. Man was truly spent
D
He absolutely beat the hell out of us…least he could do in return is do the same to our sports nemesis.
F
So sad to watch this. Such a jewel, and now we will blink and he will be on to the NBA. Going to watch as much illinois as possible before he is gone. What a find.
1
This freshman class is absolutely unreal
M
Kingston 42 points today was insane
B
Cam Boozer “only” had 32 today. And Dybantsa still to go.
D
Mikel Brown came back today after over a month of not playing and dropped an easy 20. Loaded class
T
Caleb Wilson had another quiet 20 point game as well
S
how dare he! only a top 20 road win and only 20 points.
T
Lol I keep waiting on the 30+ point explosion but all he does is score only 20 points nearly every game. Outliers are 26 & 13
S
again just crazy to get that level of consistent play from freshman
T
For real, it’s been fun to watch
P
They’ve forgotten about him, or saw his one bad game and dismissed him. He’s only gonna get better, I’m excited. I live in the Sacramento area, the fans are expecting a top 6 pick, I haven’t seen a fan mention his name yet, and that’s good, let him go to a better organization
S
Bush league numbers SMH /S Wagler had a big role to play with Boswell out and he filled it and then some
A
Has to be one of the greatest games ever played by a college basketball player. Dude is fucking cold.
G
Nothing but respect. Hate that it was against us.
S
pretty much what we have been saying about Braden for 4 years…. great performance by both. I’m pretty sure they both were born in sub zero temps
G
Having watched Carson Edwards drop 40 in Champaign. This was personal for me.
B
Mark Smith off the bench with 1/5 FGs for 3 pts. Dark times and I was there
H
I put this in the game thread, but that is a huge understatement. To put in perspective how rare that kind of game is, I looked into some game logs for Steph Curry. Ya’ know, just the greatest three point shooter in the history of the game. Even by relaxing the criteria quite a bit to >65% from three on 8 or more attempts, Steph has just 40 such games in the 1,000+ he has played in his NBA career. Make it match Wagler today (11+ attempts on >80% shooting from three) and you get one game. You read that right. One. Game.
S
wow. that’s a crazy stat. cool of you to look it up
B
Dude was the 261st ranked player in the 247 composite and he’s a freshman.
A
After the first 247 players they just stop caring.
S
that’s pretty funny
A
He was unconscious man I’ve never seen anything like it at the college level.
P
I don’t know if I’ve seen a better freshman here.
J
easily the best freshman in Illini history
S
Deron Williams comes to mind
I
Deron wasn’t a lottery pick in a disgustingly loaded class during his freshman year though.
N
Deron played 3 years, no? EDIT: disregard, misread
I
it was also a different time, given NBA eligibility requirements were a bit different.
C
He wasn’t that good as freshman. Didn’t take off till sophomore year
P
Frank Williams had a better freshman year.
J
Nah, Deron made his big leap sophomore year
J
It’s absolutely crazy that we had our first two one and done draft picks ever last year and now we end up with an unexpected third one.
M
I already read the article but I really do hope you guys can keep him for at least another year. Our best player is a guy whom our coach keeps sending to the bench and that was clearly evident when Indiana visited last night.
R
He’s gone for sure, most likely in the Top 10
Z
There is truly no chance of that happening
E
He’s a lotto lock
N
He was getting mocked at the edge of the lottery before today, I think he might’ve moved up a spot or two after that.
Y
Hes been a lottery lock until tonight. Probably pushed him up to top 7 with his performance today.
T
not a chance
J
Lol, keep him? Absolutely not happening. He’s going to leave and he should. Would I be ecstatic if he stayed? Of course. A player like that sticking around for another year immediately puts you in the national championship conversation. But he’d be insane to stay.
D
Carsen Edwards bro Carsen Edwards
P
Haha of course a Virginia fan remembers
H
Carsen shot 10/19 from three that game. Huge volume, high percentage. Wagler shot 9/11 today. It was an insanely ridiculous performance even for someone who watched that Elite 8 matchup.
Additional Sources:
purdueexponent.org – Boilermakers crumble to second straight close battle
