Back in December, when Keaton Wagner’s name started buzzing in NBA Draft circles and the possibility of him being a one-and-done draft pick became real, the Waglers made a decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had one conversation with (his agents),\u201d Logan Wagler, Keaton\u2019s dad, said. \u201cWe don\u2019t wanna have those conversations. We don\u2019t want to know. We don\u2019t want to get excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wagler went on to have one of the most surprising freshman seasons in the history of college hoops. A player with just three high-major scholarship offers in high school, who ranked No. 261 in his class by the 247Sports Composite, Wagler was a second-team All-American and the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament South Regional. He fully exploded onto the national radar with a 46-point performance in a road win at Purdue in January.<\/p>\n
Finally, it was time to talk about it. So one week after the Final Four loss to Connecticut, Illinois coach Brad Underwood, his assistant coach and son Tyler Underwood, assistant Zach Hamer and strength coach Adam Fletcher flew to Kansas to meet with the family. Wagler met with his agents to go through his options one more time and said he made his decision then, but he took an extra day to make sure.<\/p>\n
Logan and Jennifer Wagler waited all day for their son\u2019s decision while he played \u201cGuitar Hero\u201d and watched some TV.<\/p>\n
Finally, Wagler came down the stairs and asked his parents, \u201cSo do you guys want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course!<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n