Keaton Wagler is already acting like the stage isn’t too big for him.
That’s the takeaway from his early run in NBA Summer League, where the former Illinois star is getting his first taste of pro basketball pressure without looking rattled by it. Wagler said the feeling isn’t all that different from what he dealt with late last season in college.
“I think it's [pressure] kind of just the same, especially towards the end of the season last year, there was a lot of pressure on me just to perform well and do kind of what I did all last year," Wagler said. "I usually don't let the pressure get to me. I just try to...play freely and just do what I do."
That mindset fits the way Wagler’s career has unfolded. He wasn’t a five-star recruit carrying massive expectations out of high school. He came in as a three-star, then steadily climbed into the spotlight once he got to Illinois.
At first, there wasn’t much weight on his shoulders. Then the production came, the role grew, and so did the attention. Wagler emerged as one of the top players in a freshman class loaded with talent, won Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and helped power an Illinois team that kept winning in a way people outside the program may not have fully seen coming.
The biggest spotlight arrived in the NCAA Tournament. Wagler led Illinois all the way to the Final Four, where the Illini ran into UConn and fell nine points short of a trip to the title game. That was the end of his run with Illinois, but it also showed how comfortable he had become with high-leverage moments.
Now he’s with the Clippers as the No. 5 overall pick, and the pressure only figures to rise from here. Summer League is one thing.
The regular season will be another. If he helps push the Clippers toward the postseason, the spotlight gets even hotter.
For now, though, Wagler doesn’t look like a player who’s blinking. The lights haven’t felt too bright yet, and he’s made it clear he plans to keep it that way.
In Other News...
Illinois Fans Still Feel The Sting Of These Recruiting Letdowns
Illinois has had its share of recruiting wins over the years, but the programs history also includes a handful of highly touted names who never quite delivered on the promise that followed them to Champaign. Marquez Beason arrived as a four-star talent, Gabe Megginson came in with plenty of buzz on the offensive line, and Aaron Bailey was supposed to give the offense a future at quarterback. Instead, each became part of the long list of what-ifs that still linger when fans look back on earlier eras.
Martez Wilson stands out in a different way, because his Illinois career was productive enough to matter without ever fully matching the lofty expectations attached to a five-star label. He developed into a solid Big Ten player and moved on to the NFL, but even that success only underscores how hard it is for a program to turn elite recruiting rankings into the kind of consistent star power that changes everything. For Illinois, these names remain a reminder that signing day hype is only the first step. [Read more 🡒]
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The change is already showing up in the class count. Illinois signed six prep prospects in the Class of 2026, its biggest high school haul since 2018, and the staff has not stopped there. The Illini already hold commitments from in-state four-stars Quinton Kitt and Mason Martin for 2027, and they are still chasing more help as Underwood tries to build a deeper pipeline the old-fashioned way. [Read more 🡒]
Former Illinois Wing Will Riley Just Turned Heads In Summer League
Will Riley is already giving Washington a reason to pay attention this summer. The former Illinois wing, who entered the 2025 NBA draft after arriving in Champaign as the top recruit in the 2024 class, put together a standout showing in Summer League against Sacramento, finishing with 32 points and six rebounds while looking every bit like a player trying to force his way into a bigger conversation.
For a Wizards team that has spent recent years searching for a clearer direction, performances like that matter even in July. Washington is banking on young talent to reshape its future, with Riley viewed as part of that next wave alongside No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa, and nights like this only add to the intrigue around how quickly that rebuilding plan can start to look real. [Read more 🡒]