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It's official!
Keaton Wagler has been selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft!
This is where I was hoping Keaton would end up way back when the lottery was announced.
I am glad the Clippers chose Wagler over Darius Acuff and Mikel Brown, the only two guys who could have slipped ahead of Keaton. In fact, the Brooklyn Nets have just drafted Brown and the Kings have taken Acuff. While Brown and Acuff are better athletes, Wagler is the better overall player.
Wagler deserved to land somewhere other than Brooklyn, where careers go to die in my humble opinion, and Sacramento, which has an amazing fan base but a less-than-stellar organization.
Los Angeles was the best landing spot for Wagler, who has had a meteoric rise during the past calendar year, from three-star recruit to top-five draft pick.
In just one season in Champaign, Wagler led Illinois back to the Final Four and became my 7th favorite Illini of my 30-year fandom, which I am sure will rise with time. :-)
Congratulations to Keaton and the Wagler family, and best wishes in Los Angeles!
Keaton Wagler has been selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft!
This is where I was hoping Keaton would end up way back when the lottery was announced.
I am glad the Clippers chose Wagler over Darius Acuff and Mikel Brown, the only two guys who could have slipped ahead of Keaton. In fact, the Brooklyn Nets have just drafted Brown and the Kings have taken Acuff. While Brown and Acuff are better athletes, Wagler is the better overall player.
Wagler deserved to land somewhere other than Brooklyn, where careers go to die in my humble opinion, and Sacramento, which has an amazing fan base but a less-than-stellar organization.
Los Angeles was the best landing spot for Wagler, who has had a meteoric rise during the past calendar year, from three-star recruit to top-five draft pick.
In just one season in Champaign, Wagler led Illinois back to the Final Four and became my 7th favorite Illini of my 30-year fandom, which I am sure will rise with time. :-)
Congratulations to Keaton and the Wagler family, and best wishes in Los Angeles!
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In other news, former Illinois power forward Morez Johnson Jr. was drafted ninth overall by the Dallas Mavericks and his former Head Coach at Michigan, Dusty May, who was just hired by the organization yesterday.
Whatever you think of Morez after leaving Illinois for Michigan, the kid is an absolute beast on the basketball court. May taking Morez instead of his former Michigan players Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara reveals a lot about whom he thought was the most important player on the Wolverines last season.
A frontline of Cooper Flagg and Johnson is quite imposing and promising for the Mavericks. In my opinion, this was the shrewdest pick of the first round beyond the no brainers.
With that in mind, you have to give credit to Illinois for surviving the loss of a top-10 pick in Johnson with the addition of David Mirkovic last season.
Whatever you think of Morez after leaving Illinois for Michigan, the kid is an absolute beast on the basketball court. May taking Morez instead of his former Michigan players Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara reveals a lot about whom he thought was the most important player on the Wolverines last season.
A frontline of Cooper Flagg and Johnson is quite imposing and promising for the Mavericks. In my opinion, this was the shrewdest pick of the first round beyond the no brainers.
With that in mind, you have to give credit to Illinois for surviving the loss of a top-10 pick in Johnson with the addition of David Mirkovic last season.
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Back to Wagler, he is the highest Illinois draft pick since Deron Williams was selected third overall by the Utah Jazz during the 2005 NBA Draft.
Illinois has now had first-round picks in three straight drafts, with Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley selected #20th and #21st overall by the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards during the 2025 NBA Draft, and Terrence Shannon Jr. selected 27th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2024 NBA Draft.
Of course, Jakucionis is now headed to Milwaukee as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade to the Miami Heat last night. The Bucks drafted Arizona guard Brayden Burries with the tenth overall pick, another reason why I am skeptical that Milwaukee is the best fit for Kasparas.
Illinois has now had first-round picks in three straight drafts, with Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley selected #20th and #21st overall by the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards during the 2025 NBA Draft, and Terrence Shannon Jr. selected 27th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2024 NBA Draft.
Of course, Jakucionis is now headed to Milwaukee as part of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade to the Miami Heat last night. The Bucks drafted Arizona guard Brayden Burries with the tenth overall pick, another reason why I am skeptical that Milwaukee is the best fit for Kasparas.
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