Illinois basketball has a player who can go alongside Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybansta, and Darius Acuff as the most talented players in the NCAA tournament this year.
They are the best of the best and are poised to make a big impact at the next level. But among the elite names who are littered around the top 10 of this list, there is one Illini player who continues to have a meteoric rise through college basketball.
That individual is freshman superstar Keaton Wagler. Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf of ESPN have ranked him as the fifth-best player in the entire tournament. It is a very prestigious honor for the Wagler, especially with being ranked among the likes of Boozer, Dybansta, Acuff, and Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg.
Wagler was the No. 261 player and the No. 47 shooting guard coming out of high school last year. He was one of the most under-recruited players in the entire country and was considered to be a project player coming into his first year with the Illini.
But that all changed once the season started, as Wagler quickly found his way into Brad Underwood's starting lineup. The 6-foot-6 freshman put the country on notice in his first four games of the season, averaging 17.5 points in 31 minutes per game. That role would eventually expand exponentially, as he continued to be a consistent fixture in the starting lineup while still averaging 17.9 points per game on 44.6% shooting from the field.
Wagler has exceeded everyone's expectations and is now on the verge of possibly being a lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft. He has been a very special player, and he is continuing to receive the national media attention that he rightfully deserves.
Keaton Wagler has a chance to be a March Madness darling for Illinois
We've all heard of the possible paths that Illinois can take through the South Region of the NCAA tournament. After facing off against former Big Ten foe Fran McCaffrey and the Penn Quakers, there is a possibility that Illinois can take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in a rematch of the 2004-05 NCAA National Championship.
The first two rounds of Illinois' run through the tournament will be filled with storylines that any Illini fan can sink their teeth into. But if you look past Penn and the winner of UNC vs. VCU, you can see that the Illini have a very daunting road to the Final 4.
It is a rather scary path that consists of a possible matchup with the Houston Cougars in the Sweet 16, as well as a bout with the defending national champion Florida Gators in the Elite 8. If the Illini can survive the first two rounds, their No. 2-ranked offense in the country will have to deal with Houston and Florida's No. 5 and No. 6-ranked defenses, respectively.
Wagler is already a superstar and someone who will have his jersey raised to the rafters of the State Farm Center. But if he can continue his successful play against two of the best programs in the country, then he will most certainly become a legend of this tournament.
Obviously, Illinois, Houston, and Florida will have to make it there for this to happen. But if Wagler is able to put the Superman cape on and lead his team past two elite defenses like these, then it's safe to say that he will become one of the biggest March Madness darlings in history.
Simply put, Wagler's 'One Shining Moment' in this tournament has a chance to be a movie, and we're all here for it!