Observing Keaton Wagler, Kingston Flemings, and David Mirkovic in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament

April 1st, 2026

By Alan Lu

Illinois and Houston played in a highly anticipated Sweet 16 matchup on March 26th that featured some of the most talented prospects in the 2026 draft.  It turned out to be a defensive struggle, in which both teams struggled mightily to score in the first half.  But Illinois was able to run away to win the game due to a dominant second half performance, as they have the skill, the talent, and depth to be prime title contenders this year.

Keaton Wagler had a solid showing in his team’s win over Houston.  He struggled to make shots early on, but he showed off a variety of skills in the second half.  He shot the ball well from deep, showed he can score off the dribble, and he is a smooth playmaker that can make passes off the dribble to set up scores for his teammates.  On the downside, he would sometimes take tough outside shots that would lead to some misses, and he also occasionally struggled to get separation, as he ended up committing a couple of turnovers.

Also, he did a tremendous job of rebounding the basketball.  He also defended well, and he would get his hands on passes to get steals and deflections, and he also excelled at blocking shots.  Overall, Keaton Wagler is a very skilled guard that is one of the smartest guards in the draft, and he will likely be a lottery pick in the 2026 draft.

Kingston Flemings had a decent showing in his team’s loss to Illinois.  He was able to make some solid plays in the first half, as he made a three and used his footspeed to get into the paint and dole out some assists.  He also has a crafty pump fake that he can use to knock down outside shots.  However, he struggled to consistently make plays in the second half.

He struggled to consistently knock down outside shots or score off the dribble. On the bright side, Flemings did a good job of distributing the basketball, which allowed him to get assists.  He also rebounded and defended well, and he would deflect balls and poke balls away to get deflections.

Overall, Flemings put forth a fairly solid performance in his team’s loss to Illinois.  He is an athletic, skilled point guard that can make plays on both sides of the ball, but he’ll need to be a more consistent outside shooter in games. Even still, he will likely be a lottery pick in the 2026 draft.

Illinois’ freshman forward, David Mirkovic played very well in his team’s win over Houston.  He is a smooth, skilled playmaking forward that can score on strong drives to the hoop, as well as finish plays out of the post, and he also can make solid passes off the dribble. He rebounded the ball well, and he was able to block a three-point shot.

He was able to make a pair of threes, although he was a bit streaky with his outside shot, and would sometimes commit careless turnovers.  Overall though, Mirkovic played very well, and he could be a solid pick for an NBA team in the late first to the second round range of the 2026 draft.

Andrej Stojakovic had a solid showing in his team’s win over Houston.  He especially excelled offensively, as he is a smooth scorer that can use spin moves to score off the dribble, and he also made a pull-up three to showcase his shooting prowess.  He also is an unselfish player that will look to find the open man.  Overall, Stojakovic played quite well in this game, and he is a smooth, scoring swingman that could end up being a solid role player in the NBA.

Houston’s 6-5 freshman swingman, Chase McCarty played well in his team’s loss to Illinois.  He did a great job of knocking down threes, and he also excelled as a movement shooter and ball mover. He also was able to successfully draw a charge defensively due to good positioning.  He is an agile, skilled player that can be a knockdown outside shooter when he’s on the floor, and he could project to be a solid, 3 and D role player in the NBA.

Tomislav Ivisic, Jake Davis, and Ben Humrichous helped Illinois have a big second half, and they were instrumental in making key shots, especially from deep to help generate offense for them.  They did a great job of spacing the floor and making threes, and all three of them could end up being effective role players at the NBA level.

Kylan Boswell had a decent showing in his team’s win over Houston.  He is an aggressive guard that showed a knack for getting to the free throw line, and he also generally passed the ball well.  He didn’t shoot the ball well, but his ability to draw fouls upon his defenders and move the ball enabled Illinois to make plays on offense to help his team get the win. Boswell will need to be a more consistent shooter on the floor, but his skills could enable him to make it to the NBA someday.

Chris Cenac struggled in his team’s loss to Illinois.  His play was generally disappointing, especially on the defensive end.  On some of the possessions, he showed some ability to score off of cuts and from the mid-range, and he would sometimes throw down dunks.  However, he struggled to score out of the post or make mid-range shots consistently, and he also dropped a low pass that led to a team turnover.

Cenac did rebound the ball very well.  He also blocked a shot, and he’s shown some ability to be a rim protector this season. However, he didn’t defend nearly as well as he should have.  He would sometimes get outmuscled when defending opponents off the dribble, which would lead his team to give up scores.  Other times, he would give up too much space to shooters, which would allow them to score on open jump shots.

Overall, Cenac had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to Illinois.  He’s had some very good games, and hasn’t played nearly as well in others.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of them, and he ended up scoring just 6 points on 3 of 12 shooting in this game. He’s a talented, but very soft big man that didn’t quite have the impact as he should have, but his size, skill level, and upside could enable him to be an intriguing option for NBA teams to consider in the second round range of the 2026 draft.   

Emanuel Sharp had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to Illinois.  He showed a solid pull-up game as well as a much improved ability to score off the dribble, but he had trouble consistently knocking down threes in this game.  He didn’t shoot quite as well as he should have, but he is a sharpshooter whose jump shot could be his calling card in the NBA.

Joseph Tugler had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to Illinois.  He is an athletic, undersized power forward that passed the ball well, and he sees the floor well, especially for a player his size.  He also showed that he can finish plays on off-ball motion plays.

However, he didn’t rebound quite as well as he should have, and he struggled to get boards against taller opponents.  He also would play too aggressively, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.  Overall, he is an athletic, energetic combo forward, but he will need to expand upon his skill set offensively and be a more disciplined defender in games. Right now, he has a long ways to go, and he has to refine his skill set considerably on offense to make himself a viable prospect for the NBA. Even still, he could project to be a rotational, depth big man off the bench at the NBA level.

Milos Uzan had his ups and downs in his team’s loss to Illinois.  He passed the ball well, but he really struggled to make shots. While he did make a three-pointer, he really struggled to knock down shots off the dribble or from the outside, and he became something of an offensive liability in this game due to his inability to make shots or keep defenders honest.  Overall, Uzan hasn’t had a great season, but his ability to run the point and make plays could enable him to carve out a lengthy playing career in professional basketball.

All in all, those are my thoughts on how Wagler, and various prospects fared in this game. Thanks for reading.