Illinois guard Keaton Wagler is entering the NBA draft, ProMondo Sports tells Shams Charania and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Twitter link).
Wagler, 19, is coming off a sensational freshman season that saw him lead the Fighting Illini to a 28-9 record and their first Final Four appearance since 2005. He averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 37 games while shooting 44.5% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range.
The Shawnee, Kansas, native received the Jerry West Award as the best guard in college basketball and was selected as a second-team All-American. He was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors.
Wagler set an Illinois freshman record on January 24 with 46 points at Purdue, which marked the highest scoring total ever for a visiting player at Mackey Arena. He made nine three-pointers in that game, which is also an Illinois record.
At 6’6″, Wagler can handle either backcourt position and is part of a talented group of guards expected to be taken in this year’s lottery. ESPN has him fifth on its list of the top 100 prospects and projects him as the sixth pick in its latest mock draft.
Wagler has impressed scouts with his positional size, shooting touch and quick decision-making, Woo states in a full story. NBA executives see tremendous upside with a chance for stardom if he can improve as a ball-handler.