Jam’s Journal: Wagler Watch and Onyenso’s Outstanding Outing | Recapping In-person Scouts of Virginia Tech-Virginia and Illinois-Maryland
Jam reflects on his weekend of final regular season in-person scouts, highlighted by elite 2026 NBA Draft prospect Keaton Wagler and rising big man Ugonna Onyesno.
To close out my regular season in-person scouts, the basketball gods blessed me with a couple of stellar games last weekend: Virginia Tech-Virginia in the Commonwealth Clash and Illinois-Maryland. Virginia prevailed 76-72, led by a rising big man prospect against a Virginia Tech team led by a prospect that was a consensus 2026 first rounder to start the cycle.
The Illinois-Maryland game nearly resulted in the scrappy Terps upsetting Illinois behind a pair of freshmen, but a potential Top 5 pick helped save the day for Illinois with a strong second half en route to a 78-22 victory. Let’s start with that potential Top 5 selection, Keaton Wagler.
Illinois vs. Maryland
It was exciting to see Keaton Wagler go about his business. Wagler was on the floor about an hour and a half before game time to go through his pre-game shooting routine. He shot the ball well throughout and really caught fire to close the session, which included two dunks (both with two hands off one foot). For someone who relies upon his marriage of size and skill over athleticism, his 6’6” listed height appeared to be legit or very close to it at the very least.
The game displayed both the good and bad about Wagler’s game and NBA projection. In typical Wagler fashion, he was calm making decisions throughout the game and didn’t really press the issue with his offense until early in the second half after being held scoreless in the first half (0-3 FGA, 0-2 3PA). Wagler finished the game with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Out of a few pick-and-rolls, Wagler changed directions then knifed into the defense to initiate contact that resulted in an and-one scoop layup, a drawn foul, and a blocked shot. Despite the wiry frame, I love the fearlessness and ability to initiate contact and still make plays.
On the defensive end, I was encouraged by his competitive effort, quick hands, and willingness to consistently pressure the ball. He forced Del Pino to turn a couple of times, then lose the ball on a full-court press. Another notable defensive possession saw Wagler hustle back in transition after missing a three then swipe the ball off the offensive player for a turnover.
With about a minute left in the game and Illinois ahead 72-70, Wagler had difficulty creating separation on the switching Saunders after multiple moves, and missed a tough contested attempt. That is the prime concern about Wagler’s upside and overall game: the lack of ideal burst and space creation. How much will this ultimately limit his Top 5 appeal? If evaluators believe Wagler is an elite or double-plus shooter/shotmaker, that should be enough to alleviate any upside concerns.
Seeing the movement skills and effortless shooting mechanics of the 7’2” Zvonimir Ivisic was impressive up close. For his eight points, he easily finished plays above the rim, including a lob from the dunker spot and a floor run slam. Big Z shot the ball well from distance during warmups, but missed both of his in-game attempts. The intriguing modern tools are there for a stretch-five play finisher and shot-blocker role, but how much of it is an idea? If there is more production next season to match his skillset and tools, Big Z is an easy Top 30 prospect.
It was not the most productive outing for Tomislav Ivisic: four points, four rebounds, and three assists in 19 minutes. However, he still offered some glimpses of what makes him an appealing big: playmaking, touch, and short-roll operation. Ivisic dropped two beautiful dimes to Mirkovic: a wraparound bounce pass in the post against an incoming double team and a quick short roll drop. Similar to his brother, the skillset is easy to buy into, too. It’s the production that must continue to take a notable step forward.
David Mirkovic’s double-double (22 points and 11 rebounds) paced the close Illinois win. Maryland didn’t have an answer for his blend of strength and physicality, which he leveraged as a below-the-rim finisher, second-chance point creator, and glass cleaner. After seeing him in person, I’m more skeptical of his 6’9” listing. Measuring closer to 6’7” than 6’9” wouldn’t be shocking. Adding in that there was a breakaway layup that he barely finished above the rim, there is a clear and massive athleticism disparity between him and NBA bigs. Hopefully, Mirkovic’s physical measurements will be true to his listing and give more confidence in his ability to match up against the elite blend of size, length, and athleticism that NBA bigs offer.
Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic were quietly productive with 11 and eight points, respectively. Boswell’s stout frame matched the film, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he measures shorter than his 6’2” listing. He was perfect from the free-throw line (4-4 FTA), buried a size-up three, and delivered a smooth scoop lob assist in transition to a Big Z slam. He’s still someone I’m expecting to end up in that G-League Elite camp mix.
Stojakovic’s eight points came in 18 minutes, with half of them coming from the charity stripe (4-6 FTA). Both of his made field goals were the result of aggressive direct line slashes, including a reverse finish. Much more of a shotmaker than shooter, Stojakovic’s swing skill remains his three-point shooting (23.3% this season). He couldn’t connect on either of his two attempts from distance, and his shooting in warm-ups was up and down. There is some consistent sidespin on his ball, and the release isn’t realyl fluid; hopefully, both are something that can be improved. If Stojakovic can show progressive shooting development, his eventual NBA case becomes much easier to make.
Andre Mills poured in an efficient game-high 30 points (10-18 FGA, 2-8 3P), 19 coming in the second half, where he hit big shots for Maryland in their near-upset loss. Mills was aggressive at attacking the rim (8-10 FTA) while showcasing some of his shotmaking, highlighted by multiple finishes in the lane and multi-level pull-up shooting. While there might not be a clear NBA skill yet, the redshirt freshman guard was dynamic throughout his debut campaign and figures to be an integral piece for Maryland next season. He deserves to be on the long-term NBA prospect radar.
Darius Adams added 14 points, and his confident shotmaking ability still has me interested long-term. Adams drained a stepback middy after a fluid crossover, a fading jumper after spinning in the lane, and two threes in the second half (shot fake into a rhythm dribble three and catch-and-shoot corner three). I’m still figuring out if he’s more of a lead or ancillary guard. His sophomore season should provide more clarity on his ideal role and upside.
Virginia Tech vs. Virginia
Everything that I saw on film this season from Neo Avdalas aligned with what I saw in-person. Getting the negative out of the way first, he settles for jumpers a bit too much and doesn’t always utilize his size advantage as much as I would prefer. When he was aggressive getting downhill from ball screens while playing with pace, change of direction, and physicality, it led to good things such as an and-one finish, drawn shooting foul, and connective playmaking. That’s what I’m hoping to see more of in a potential return to VT after initial one-and-done lottery projections to begin the cycle.
Shooting remains the swing skill. He’s a confident shooter and shotmaker with repeatable and fluid mechanics, which he’s shown throughout the season and all throughout warm-ups before the game. I’m still in on long-term Advalas’s blend of NBA positional size, feel, ball skills, and shotmaking upside.
Amani Hansberry arguably is the best and most NBA-ready player on Virginia Tech, thanks to his modern big tools, physicality, and competitiveness; all traits that have popped since watching him on the grassroots level with Team Durant, and did the same against Virginia. Hansberry had his shooting stroke going in warm-ups as he knocked down about six straight towards the end of his session. He missed his first two in-game threes on the same side of the floor as his warmup, but would have all day to bury his third attempt and another later in the game (2-5 3PA). Hansberry wasn’t always rewarded with assists, but dished out multiple skip passes that led to good attempts for VT. Defensively, he battled in the post against De Ridder and flashed his quick hands on an on-ball steal on the perimeter.
Ben Hammond led Virginia Tech in scoring (21 points), assists (five), and steals (5) in what was an illustration of emergence this season to a vital piece of what the team does on both ends of the floor. Hammond routinely made plays off the bounce with his blend of quickness and creativity, alongside generating paint touches both with and without a screen. Although he’s a smaller guard at 5‘11”, he was physical when snaking screens and able to ward off defenders in those situations for a score and to draw a foul. A couple of his steals came on late in the second half on dig strips via active and quick hands. Hammond’s two abilities have him in position to be one of the better lead guards in the ACC next season.
Tobi Lawal is someone that I would love to add on a two-way deal. Despite being a bit undersized for a big, his other worldly vertical pop and explosion speaks for itself and functionalizes as a violent above the rim threat. His growing touch and shooting progression continue to be convincing. Lawal confidently drilled two catch-and-shoot threes (one in the corner). It was no surprise considering both his gradual shooting development and impressive pre-game shooting work that saw him make most of his shots, starting with short jumpers and then progressively moving out to the three-point line. Considering Lawal is primed to annihilate NBA combine testing, shooting well throughout the pre-draft process could see him eventually rise.
Ugonna Onyenso was the star of the game. He’s the most NBA-ready prospect for UVA, and I’m leaning towards the top prospect on the squad. He is just so productive in his time on the floor, and opposing defenses feel his presence as a lurking shot-blocker/rim protector and play finisher. The long and rangy 7’0” big man finished drop-offs with dunks and a pick-and-roll lob from Mallory. Those touch flashes surfaced on two pick-and-pop threes that he hit without any hesitation. One of those makes came late in the second half to extend the UVA lead to seven with just under two minutes left. Onyenso’s bread and butter is his play finishing rim protector profile; however, the touch flashes should be explored by NBA teams and raise his ceiling.
Speaking of his rim protection and defense, Onyenso swatted two shots at the rim (one in drop and the other on the ball) and utilized his length and active hands for a pick-and-roll steal. Oyenso should be on every NBA team’s list of potential value additions on the margin. Once thought to be more of an UDFA, there should be real second round interest.
Thijs De Ridder had another rock-solid performance: 13 points and eight rebounds (three offensive). Similar to Mirkovic, his leveraging of strength and physicality can be overwhelming, but I’m concerned about the lack of a carrying NBA skill and adequate athleticism.
Fellow first years Johann Grunloh and Chance Mallory were not the impactful factors that they have mostly been this season, but that didn’t dampen my long-term intrigue with both. Grunloh has potential as a shot-blocking stretch big (probably the UVA prospect with the highest ceiling) and Mallory can be a smaller disruptive two-way guard akin to his matchup in this game, Ben Hammond.