By Joanna Chadwick
The stats that Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Keaton Wagler put up during his senior season as he led the Cougars to the second straight Class 6A title were eye-popping.
He averaged 18.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, while shooting 58.5% from the field, 44.8% from three-point range and 83% from the free-throw line. He signed with Illinois.
Wagler is the VYPE Kansas 2024-25 editors choice boys basketball player of the year sponsored by Shelter Insurance.
But stats weren’t what coach David Birch pointed to when asked about what made Wagler such a special player. Birch noted Wagler’s versatility and basketball IQ.
“He understands basketball, especially winning basketball,” Birch said. “He doesn’t miss defensive coverages, he doesn’t forget offensive plays, he can see mismatches.
“He knows who needs to touch the ball and how to get to his spots on the floor. He can play 1-5, really. He is a good passer, good shooter, good ballhandler, good defender, good rebounder.
“There’s nothing he can’t do on the basketball floor.”
Wagler played as a freshman because of his shooting ability and consistency in making the right play.
“I think my progress from my sophomore year to junior year to senior year was extraordinary,” he said. “From sophomore year to junior year, I became a way better defender and ballhandler, being able to get downhill and make plays for others. From junior year to senior year, I made a big jump in all categories – scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.”
Birch credits the spring and summer AAU circuit in Wagler’s junior year as playing a part.
“(That) really gave him a lot of confidence that he can play with anyone, and he’s one of the top guys in the country.”
Wagler is ranked in the top 150 in the country.
But he also put in the work.
“I feel like every practice and workout, I give 100%, so that in games, it isn’t as hard,” Wagler said. “I also trust my coaches and my work to know that the things I work on, I can do in games and set myself apart from others.”
In at least half of SM Northwest’s games, Wagler didn’t sit the bench.
“He was our captain, our leader and greatly important to our team because we needed him out there all the time,” Birch said.
As one of the nation’s top players, eyes were certainly on Wagler – especially when the Cougars reached the 6A tournament with a second straight title on the line.
“I think early he may have felt some pressure, and when we got to the state tournament, felt some pressure,” Birch said. “But the great players love that pressure, and he was able to settle in and have a great season.”
Wagler also understood the importance of his team.
“Our team has been so good the past two years because we trust each other on the court, but we also have a lot of chemistry since we grew up around each other and played basketball since elementary school.
“… We loved coming in every day in practice to make each other better and compete every day, no matter if we won or lost. We were all very talented players that, if any of us played on a different team, we could have averaged 20 points.
“But we knew to win games, we had to play together and trust our coaches to put us in the right spots to win.”
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