Wagner develops into Kaneland's go-to scorer

It was no surprise this was going to be a rebuilding year for the Kaneland boys basketball team.

After all, the entire starting lineup graduated, and only three players came back from last year's team.

One of those players was Nick Wagner, who was one of the first players off the bench.

The senior guard has done his part this year, as his averaged jumped from 4.4 points a game to a team-best 14.1 ppg, which is ninth-best in the Tri-Cities Area.

Between Wagner and the two other returning players Kevin Green and Nate Peters, an average of about 10 points per game returned from last year's 14-12 team. Wagner pretty much had no choice but to emerge as the Knights' leader.

"He's one of our best players, so we had to get scoring out of him," Kaneland coach Dennis Hansen said of Wagner. "He has that (scoring) mentality."

So did Wagner's brother, Ryan, who was one of 7 seniors on last year's team. Ryan also had a breakthrough year in his senior year with the Knights. He is currently playing at Benedictine College in Lisle.

"I just wanted to take over his spot," Nick said of Ryan, a starter who led the Knights in scoring at 16.7 points a game last year.

Not only has Nick's scoring gone up, but he is third in the area in 3-pointers at 2.3 per game. He's also second on the Knights in rebounds at 5.2 rpg.

"He does other things as well," Hansen said. "He plays good defense and drives the ball to the basket. He's doing a good job."

Wagner has scored in double-digits in 12 of the last 13 games, which includes five 20-plus point games.

Wagner's best performances this season arrived back-to-back -- the only time Kaneland has won consecutive games this season.

In the first game of Marengo's Christmas tournament against Harvard, Wagner scored a season-high 23 points (including five 3-pointers) in the 63-35 win.

The next game against Harper, Wagner posted a career night when he not only hit the game-tying 3-pointer that sent the game into overtime, but he connected on a conventional 3-point play with 3.7 seconds remaining in overtime that allowed Kaneland the 72-69 win. He finished that game with 22 points.

"That was a good win for us," Wagner said.

It was just one of 7 wins Kaneland (7-14) has posted this season. Winning has been a tough thing for the Knights this year, but most of the time, when Wagner is on, he's on and the team wins.

When he's off, however, he's off. Both coach and Wagner will admit that.

"That's Nick," Hansen said. "There is no in between. He is either good or bad. Even when he's shooting poorly, he still does other things, so that is a positive."

"That's how it's been this whole season," Wagner added.

Even in losses, Wagner has made the most of his time on the floor. Most recently against Marmion on Kaneland's Senior Night, the Knights found themselves trailing by 18 in the third quarter.

Wagner stepped up in the fourth and scored 9 of his team-high 20 points, yet the Knights fell short, 60-55.

"When things aren't working for us, I try to get points on the board just to help the team out so we can stay in the game," Wagner said. "I keep shooting, that's what I do."

Kaneland has two Western Sun Conference opponents -- Geneva and Batavia -- left on the schedule before beginning Class 3A regional play at Sycamore against Sandwich.

"We have been working hard in practice and trying to pull off a win," said Wagner, who hopes to play either basketball or baseball next year in college. "We are close."