The Illinois basketball team has produced many great players, but what we saw on Saturday was something special.
No, I am not going to be a prisoner of the moment. The Illini have had plenty of great players throughout the history of the program. I am not going to sit here and say that Keaton Wagler is the greatest Illinois player of all-time or that he is a legend already.
But he could be…
I think it is fair to say that, coming into the game against Purdue, Wagler already had a case for the best freshman to ever step foot in Champaign.
Wagler, as an 18-year-old, is averaging 17.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and is shooting 43.5% from three-point range while taking 5.8 three-pointers per game. A super-senior would be jealous of those numbers put up by a true freshman.
In the 20 games Illinois has played this season, Wagler has led the program in either points, rebounds, or assists in 14 of those contests. This includes leading the Illini in one of those categories in the last 12 games.
What Wagler has already achieved, in my book, makes him a star for the program. He is already surpassing someone like Brandon Paul. But do you know what Paul didn’t have? Postseason success.
That is the next step in the process.
Wagler is doing some incredible things right now. He is leading Illinois as a freshman, and we are winning a ton of games. Can he help the Illini not just win a game in the Big Ten Tournament, but will Wagler help elevate us to the championship game or even the Big Ten Tournament crown?
If Illinois were to achieve Big Ten Tournament success, that would immediately move Wagler into the same realm as Ayo Dosunmu. He would be a superstar at that point. But there is one thing Ayo didn’t have.
NCAA tournament success.
That is the final step in the process. It is the step that helped Terrence Shannon Jr. graduate from superstar to legend.
It is a big lift for Wagler, but the pace he is on, if he can get Illinois to make a deep run in the Big Ten Tournament and at least the second weekend in the NCAA tournament, that would graduate him to legendary status.
Keaton Wagler’s performance against Purdue was a legendary game for the Illinois basketball program
Now, let’s not get the two confused. You can have a legendary game and not be a legend just yet. Paul had one against Ohio State back in the day when he dropped 43 points.
Wagler’s game on Saturday was legendary. He put on a show, and he was the reason why Illinois took down No. 4 Purdue. This type of game will always stick in the memories of Illini fans for the rest of time.
At the end of the day, Wagler is a great player for this program. I don’t want to just have a memory of a great player, though. I want his number hung in the rafters and Illinois to hold up some hardware by season’s end. Legendary status is definitely in sight.