Could Illinois have two NBA draft picks for a second straight year? – The News-Gazette

CHAMPAIGN — Multiple picks in a single NBA draft was renewed as a trend for Illinois in the early 2000s.

Frank Williams and Robert Archibald in 2002.

Deron Williams and Luther Head — both in the first round — in 2005.

James Augustine and Dee Brown in 2006.

It was another six years between Augustine and Brown winding up second-round picks after standout four-year careers in Champaign before another Illinois player was drafted. Then nine more between Meyers Leonard going in the 2012 lottery and Ayo Dosunmu in the second round in 2021 and another three before Terrence Shannon Jr. turned into a first-round pick in 2024.

Last year’s back-to-back first-round selections of Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley snapped a nearly two-decade streak of Illinois going without multiple draft picks.

What could transpire next Tuesday and Wednesday in Brooklyn, N.Y., might continue the trend.

Keaton Wagler has maintained status as a likely lottery pick, with the one-and-done Illinois guard projected as high as the No. 5 overall pick to the Los Angeles Clippers. Kylan Boswell is looking at a longer wait, but the Illini senior guard could also hear his name called in the second round.

Wagler’s rise from unheralded recruit to one-and-done lottery pick is one of the more notable storylines of the 2026 NBA draft. His success in a single season at Illinois put him in the conversation with a slew of other highly-regarded prospects in what most analysts feel is one of the deepest drafts — particularly at the top — in recent memory.

“He’s not someone NBA teams knew about coming into the year,” ESPN’s NBA draft analyst Jeremy Woo said of Wagler. “He was kind of a buzzy name in October as people went to practice. No one was sure when he was going to be ready, and it just happened faster than we all expected. I think the way the process has gone for him has reaffirmed that people are excited. He’ll be in that five, six and seven range.”

That’s a range that could be all one-and-done guards. Wagler’s draft stock has been tied to a tier that also includes Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. and Houston’s Kingston Flemings. Potentially also in that tier is Arizona’s own star freshman guard Brayden Burries.

The top four of the draft seems locked with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson likely to be selected in some order. How the NBA teams drafting from fifth through the end of the lottery value the group of one-and-done guards, including Wagler, could be a tipping point in the first round of the draft.

“I think it puts the Clippers in an interesting spot at No. 5,” Woo said. “They’ll know who’s available to them. They’ll have trade options. Whether it’s the Clippers or whether it’s another team picking there, I think we’ll see how these guys are viewed.

“A month ago if you had told me they’re all going in a row, I wouldn’t have thought so, but I do think that possibility is realistic. There has been a lot of interest in all those guys. It’s interesting because they’re all very different styles of player. They all flashed very good things and all had good years. It kind of depends on who you believe in and what you have on the team in terms of fit because the separation is not great.”

A determining factor might come off the basketball court. Paul Biancardi, ESPN’s national director of high school basketball recruiting, said the interviews each NBA organization conducts are an overlooked, yet critical, factor in the draft process.

“They know the answers to the questions they’re already asking,” Biancardi added. “They’re trying to get a response from the players and trying to get a character feel. … They have to feel real comfortable with the basketball fit and the character fit. They’re all different as players, and they’re a little different as people.”

That’s where Boswell might find his way into the back end of the second round. Woo currently projects the Champaign native as the No. 56 overall pick to the Chicago Bulls. It’s a best guess considering how fluid the final 15 picks of each year’s draft typically gets with pre-negotiated deals involving two-way contracts on the table.

“I like the way he defends,” Woo said of Boswell. “I like his toughness. I like his unselfishness, and I think the Illinois staff would tell you he really was willing to play a role. He played next to multiple one-and-dones and was never the guy at Illinois, but I think I like the role player mentality.”

Boswell also has the benefit of being the youngest senior in the draft having just turned 21 years old in April. But with four years of college basketball — and a depth of maturity — belying his age.

“I think he was incredibly helpful to Keaton Wagler — like incredibly helpful,” ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas said of Boswell. “Not that the NBA is handing out blue ribbons for leadership and maturity. But for him to be able to adjust to an emerging star and then to be able to play on or off the ball and perform through injury when he was out and coming back and seamlessly fitting in, he’s going to be a guy that’s going to be a ‘no-maintenance’ player for an NBA team. That’s got value, too.”