Enigma. Cambridge Dictionary defines this word as "something that is mysterious and seems impossible to understand completely". Every once in a while, there is a prospect that will come along and be the embodiment of this word for. A prospect who does things I cannot seem to comprehend or understand, and thus becomes really difficult to rank on a draft board. There is usually one prospect like this in every draft class for me. I have tried very hard to understand Keaton Wagler, but I feel as if he is doing something different that I don't expect or understand every time I watch him. He has had, generally, a very impressive freshman season with Illinois, which is highlighted by a 46 point outburst versus Purdue earlier this year. He has gone from not being discussed much as a prospect to being in the same conversation with guys like Darius Acuff or Mikal Brown. There are always prospects that do this in every draft class, and I don't think they always deserve to be ranked as high as they do in those situations, but I would certainly say this case in an exception.

The word outlier is thrown around a lot in draft conversations. I think it is thrown around a little too much. A true outlier, or, for our purposes in this discussion, an outlier skill, is significantly different/better than anything else you will see from other prospects. This word tends to get tossed around too blatantly or without thought. I have made it a personal agenda of sorts to not use that word when describing a prospect unless I absolutely believe it. So when I say Keaton Wagler is an outlier as a shooter, I absolutely believe it. I would go as far to say as he is one of the most dynamic shooters to enter a draft in recent memory, and has shown clear potential to be one of the best in the league in this faucet. Keaton has shot around 11 threes per 100 possessions, and he connected on 40% of those. That is impressive on it's own, but what really stands out is the kinds of shots he is taking. Keaton has no fear of range. He casually pulls up from well beyond the three point line on a regular basis. Like, I am talking well beyond where the NBA three-point line would be. He does not shy away from those shots, and the fact that he has remained an efficient shooter despite the level of difficulty/range his shots tend to be from is insane. He isn't just a dribble two times and shoot a contested shot type of shooter though. He has been so deadly when coming off of screens because as soon as he gets even a tiny bit of space, that is enough for him to pull the trigger and drain a deep three. He moves very well off the ball with quick cuts and quick use of screens to create even the tiniest bit of separation for himself. The player who is guarding him essentially has to be up in his face 24/7 to even stand a chance at stopping this, and even then it usually ends up failing because of his ability to create space. He also is very adept to shooting off of the catch. In the film I watched, he did an excellent job of getting himself set and quickly pulling the trigger on catch and shoot jumpers. Getting a hand up in his face seems to have no effect on him, if you are even able to do so before his shot is in the air. His confidence never dies down either. He has had some games where the shot wasn't falling, but he didn't let that stop him from taking those shots. There have been a lot of really good shooters to enter the draft in recent memory, but I cannot recall one that was quite like Keaton Wagler. I am not going to make claims that he is THE best shooting prospect this decade, but he has forced himself into that conversation. He has skill and upside to be one of the deadliest and most impactful shooters in the NBA. He'll seamlessly fit into an offense because of what he can do as a shooter off the ball, and the upside is sky high because of what he can do with the ball in his hands creating for himself.

This is a perfect transition to move on into talking about Keaton Wagler as a ball handler and playmaker. It is a unique experience watching him handle the ball and move on a basketball court. He isn't an elite athlete who bruises their way through defenders like some, but he does a lot of little things to create separation from the defender, and it looks really funky. He has really good footwork and handles the ball really well, and he uses both of these in a way that I can only describe as both beautiful and like watching a newborn dear. Somehow, this weird funky movement style works. He used these tools and skills to almost fool defenders into thinking he is going to do one thing, when in reality he has something completely different in mind. My mind cannot seem to comprehend how this works because it looks so funky and unnatural, but Keaton makes it work. I am going to preface what I am about to say by stating that I AM NOT SAYING KEATON WAGLER IS THIS PLAYER. This is a stylistic comparison only. So keep that in mind as I say this: stylistically, he reminds me in some ways of Shai-Gilgeous Alexander. The craftiness over strength/athleticism, the funky movements, and the footwork that Wagler has remind me a little bit of Shai stylistically. So take from that what you will. More on the note of what he does with these skills, Keaton is a really good playmaker in these situations. Whether it is getting himself a good shot that he knows he can make or using the attention he draws to find an open teammate, he has done an excellent job at using his abilities to be a deadly force on offense. One of the things that will determine his ceiling in the NBA is his passing. Keaton is a very good passer in some aspects. Like I already mentioned, he is good at using the attention he draws to make slick passes to open teammates, but what is really interesting are some of the reads he has been able to make. He isn't just passing within the system. He is actively going out and making some impressive reads that your average player would not be able to make. I do think there is still some room for improvement in terms of his decision-making, but the skill and potential is there. I believe in his potential as a playmaker. He may end up serving better as a secondary initiator rather than the sole engine of all offense, but I wouldn’t say it is impossible for the latter to happen.

Wagler’s ability to score inside the arch is sort of a mixed bag right now. He wasn’t necessarily the most efficient 2-point scorer, especially in the mid-range, but I do believe he has a lot of room to grow here. I already talked about his craftiness, and I think that can and probably will translate to him being a better mid-range shooter in the future. He still has the high amount of confidence in those shots like he does the deep ball. The efficiency just isn’t quite there yet. Now, when it comes to scoring around the basket, this is where things get sort of… interesting? I really don’t know exactly how to project him as a finisher at the NBA level. He was decently efficient, shooting around 56% on those shots, and he has really nice touch. Despite the lack of elite vertical athleticism or strength, he does a good job of contorting his body and fighting through contact on his layup attempts. I think his height and wingspan do help him a little it here, but he isn’t unskilled at finishing in the paint. I can’t give you a definitive answer for how he will perform as a finisher in the NBA, but I do buy into his touch giving him more upside than he is given credit for. People have brought up his lack of strength being an issue in this regard, and honestly I am not super concerned with that. It really didn’t have much of an effect on him at all in the film I watched, and he has the craft and skill to work around that in the NBA.

Wagler’s physicals have been, perhaps, the biggest topic of discussion surrounding him when people discuss his weaknesses, and I touched on that a little it in the last section. Wagler is skinny, and doesn’t quite have that same level of strength or vertical athleticism that other prospects do. I kind of already said this, but I am really not very concerned about that. His game revolves around his craft and skill as a shooter, and he has thrived thus far despite not being the elite athlete that everybody likes prospects to be. I buy into that translating to the NBA. Now, he may run into more issues on defense in the NBA than he did in college, but honestly even there I think Wagler is skilled enough to not be a liability because of his lack of elite strength. Another thing that is really getting ignored too is how tall and long he is. He is listed at 6’6 with a 7 foot wingspan, and I am going to go out on a limb here and say that I believe those measurements are accurate. He is a BIG guard with his height and length. He also, like I have discussed, has excellent footwork and weirdly good coordination (yes that counts as athleticism). Wagler may not be a jump out of the gym athlete or super bulky guy, but he has some clear physical advantages that are completely ignored for some reason.

Wagler is not really a standout defender, but I do like some of what I saw from him this year. He does a good job of being active and involved in plays. I like his help defense quite a lot because of this. He does sometimes overcommit on the help defense, but I was really impressed by how well he recovers and still makes a play. He also does a really good job on closeouts and getting a hand in the shooters' face. I think the smaller things like this go a long way to making him not a liability on defense. Questions begin to rise with his POA defense, which isn’t great. This is the one area where I do agree with the consensus and have concerns about his strength. The effort is there, but he does get pushed around pretty easily, and I think his decision making is questionable in these situations. I do believe that Wagler has potential to get better, but this will be a point of emphasis early on in his career. The question is does this make him a liability? In some ways, I think the answer is yes. I don’t think he is as much of a target defense as others because he isn’t terrible, but he will be outmatched in more scenarios than not early on. There is potential for sure. He has a big frame, and we’ve discussed some of those little things that he is good at. I believe that Wagler can become a competent, and maybe even a good defender in the NBA if he puts in the effort and focus on improving his POA defense.

Projecting how good Wagler will be in the NBA is tricky because he could end up being utlilized in a few different ways depending on where he ends up. I am going to keep this from a general perspective though, and because of that I have come to this conclusion based on all that I have talked about. I am really, really high on Wagler. He is so talented already on offense and has tons of flashes of being even better. I buy into him tapping into that upside, as long as he is given the opportunity to do so (cough cough anywhere but the Kings cough cough). So what is his ceiling then? I believe he has the upside to be one of the best players in this draft, and even one of the best guards in the league one day. He already is an outlier on offense because of the deep-range shooting, and all of the other big and little things he does on that end will translate seamlessly. I don’t want to focus too much on comparisons, but I would go as far as I think he could end up being in the realm of MVP conversations. That may seem ambitious, but I really buy into the upside he has. At the very least, I think he will still provide value no matter what because of his shooting/shotmaking. I hope he ends up a team that is going to give him the green light, because I absolutely believe he will thrive if given that opportunity. I don’t want to say that he is in the same tier as the top guys, but I won’t say he can’t break into that tier. He has so much talent and so much potential, and I think some of the weaknesses people talk about are overstated. He is an incredible player and an incredible prospect. So if you haven’t already, join me on the Keaton Wagler hype train. Trust me when I say it will be worth it.