The kid Kansas… is now the Big Ten’s best freshman.
After a historic first season in Champaign, Keaton Wagler was honored Tuesday as the league’s Freshman of the Year.
The lightly recruited four-star guard has had a dominant campaign for No. 9 Illinois, highlighted by his 46-point outburst in an upset win over Purdue in West Lafayette in late January. Wagler was also named All-Big Ten First Team.
While it hasn’t been in doubt since the summer that Wagler would start for this team, nobody knew he would often
be the primarily ball handler or go-to guy when the going got tough.
And even as his shooting has struggled in recent weeks, he’s still scored at least 10 points in every game since the start of December, en route to being the all-time leading freshman scorer for the Orange and Blue.
Congrats to Keaton, and now it’s time for tourneys.
Illinois gets going Friday afternoon in the Big Ten quarterfinals, likely against No. 5 Wisconsin.
