Keaton Wagler gets a real test Sunday night in NBA Summer League, and it comes with a little extra spotlight attached.
After a rough first showing, the former Illini guard has a chance to answer back when the Los Angeles Clippers face the Utah Jazz. Wagler opened the main event with seven points, two rebounds, and 20% shooting from three-point range, a stat line that left plenty to clean up. He looked like a player still sorting through the speed and chaos of the setting.
That’s why this next game matters. Wagler was taken No. 5 overall, and he’ll be lined up against Darryn Peterson, the No. 2 pick, in a matchup that puts two top-five selections on the same floor. Peterson already gave a strong first impression, finishing with 24 points, three rebounds, and three assists in his Summer League debut.
Darryn Peterson (No. 2 pick) and Keaton Wagler (No. 5 pick) meet as the Jazz and Clippers clash in a top five pick showdown 🔥
NBA Summer League • 10:00pm/et, Prime pic.twitter.com/4SXQDx8nqW
- NBA (@NBA) July 12, 2026
Both players still have plenty to figure out, and that’s part of what makes this such a compelling second-game look. Wagler needs to get more comfortable with the pace. Peterson, meanwhile, has to sharpen up his efficiency and take better care of the ball.
For Wagler, the checklist is pretty clear. He needs to be more involved, more assertive, and more of the playmaker Illinois fans remember.
The first game featured a lot of spot-up looks, but his value has always been higher when the ball is in his hands. There’s also room for more shot creation, something he’ll need if he wants to show he can do more than wait for the ball to find him.
Defensively, he has to look quicker too. Wagler had trouble keeping up in the opener, and Peterson figures to attack him aggressively. The added 20 pounds Wagler put on could become an asset here if he uses it the right way.
It’s only Summer League, and one game doesn’t define anything. But if Wagler wants to put the first outing behind him, Sunday night is the kind of stage where he can start doing it.
In Other News...
Illinois' Best Recruiting Wins Keep Tracing Back To One Surprising Place
Illinois most meaningful recruiting wins of the last decade have a habit of starting in places that do not always feel like natural battlegrounds for the program. Some of the players who ended up shaping the Illinis recent rise were underrated coming out of high school, while others were the prizes in hard-fought battles against bigger-name competitors. Taken together, those stories say as much about Illinois talent evaluation as they do about the players themselves.
Kendrick Green, Bobby Roundtree, JerZhan Newton and Alex Palczewski all fit that theme in different ways, and Devon Witherspoon became the kind of homegrown star every program hopes to uncover before the rest of the country catches on. The thread connecting them is not just production once they arrived in Champaign, but how Illinois identified value others missed, then turned those evaluations into players who mattered on Saturdays and, in some cases, far beyond that. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Underwood Is Pushing Illinois Past Its Final Four Comfort Zone
Brad Underwood is spending the summer trying to make sure Illinois does not simply live off the glow of last seasons Final Four run. The focus inside the program is on the 2026-27 roster developing its own identity, with the coaching staff using the offseason to shape habits, communication and chemistry rather than leaning on what the previous group accomplished.
For Underwood, that means a deliberate reset in tone and mindset as the Illini prepare for a new Big Ten grind. He has made it clear the next team needs its own mannerisms, characteristics and style, and the summer work is designed to build the kind of culture that will matter when the season tightens and the response has to come from within. [Read more 🡒]