Keaton Wagler grew up in Shawnee, Kansas, which is just a 37-minute drive to Lawrence, Kansas, home of the Kansas Jayhawks. Growing up so close to such a powerhouse basketball school made Wagler become a huge Jayhawks fan growing up, and even had him wishing to be a Jayhawk one day.
Instead, Wagler chose Illinois because Bill Self and Kansas didn’t even offer him a scholarship out of high school. Now, just one year later, Wagler is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and is a part of this historic freshman class that has been breaking records all season long.
After winning the award out of the Big Ten, Wagler was asked about his March Madness memories as a kid, and the first one that came to mind for the young star was when he grew up watching Kansas. Now, Wagler has forgotten his Kansas fandom and is all about Illinois as he is leading them to an NCAA Tournament appearance…