Illinois coach Brad Underwood loves to rely on the word “elite” when he compliments a skill he sees in one of his players. Occasionally, he’ll be so enamored that he’ll use the word twice.
Last July, when describing freshman guard Keaton Wagler to Blue Ribbon Yearbook, Underwood boldly went where he had never gone before: four elites.
“He’s super-high IQ,” Underwood said. “He is an elite, elite, elite, elite processor. I mean, he sees things.”
Fresh off a 46-point performance, Wagler will look to send the ninth-ranked Fighting Illini (17-3, 8-1 Big Ten) to their 10th win in a row on Thursday when they host Washington (11-9, 3-6) in Champaign, Ill.
Wagler’s absurd outburst on Saturday in an 88-82 victory over then-No. 4 Purdue earned him the Lute Olson National Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week honors. It likely increased the number of NBA Draft experts who insist Wagler will be a lottery pick, and the number of college hoops savants envisioning him on All-America lists.
“I thought Keaton was like nothing I’ve seen in my 39 years, especially in a Top 5 or Top 10 matchup,” Underwood said. “We just took advantage of their coverages, their switches, and just tried to space. Keaton made it really look easy and I don’t mean that in a negative way at all. He just took what the defense gave him.”
Wagler boasts team-best averages in points per game (17.5) and assists (4.0). He is shooting 47.7% from the field and 43.5% from 3-point range.
As a unit, Illinois grades out as the nation’s most efficient offense because the team shoots 36.0% on its 30.7 3-point attempts per game — but also ranks fourth nationally with its 40.1% offensive rebounding percentage.
Freshman David Mirkovic averages 12.2 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds while shooting 37.5% on 3-pointers. Illinois also boasts 7-footers Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic at center. The pair teams up for 17.7 points and 10.0 rebounds in 40.6 minutes per game while hitting 50 of 137 3-point tries (36.5%).
“Any time you can shoot the three, it just opens up everything,” said Washington coach Danny Sprinkle, whose team ranks next-to-last in the Big Ten at 31.4% from behind the arc.
“The more threes you’re making, it’s hard to match them with twos.”
Nonetheless, Illinois will be tested Thursday because it hasn’t encountered a rebounder like Washington freshman Hannes Steinbach. He leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally in rebounding (11.2) while averaging a team-high 17.5 points.
Steinbach (10 points, 13 rebounds) and seventh-year center Franck Kepnang (10 points, 14 rebounds) rolled up double-doubles in the same game for the first time in Sunday’s 72-57 victory over Oregon. The decision snapped a three-game losing streak.
In that victory, the Huskies stole a page from the Illini. They grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and limited Oregon to one.
“I was watching our guys box out,” Sprinkle said. “And we were physical with our boxouts and going and getting it.”
–Field Level Media
