Wagler was impressed by his new head coach.
Keaton Wagler is now the cornerstone Los Angeles Clipper of the future after being selected fifth-overall, the Clippers' highest draft pick since selecting Blake Griffin first-overall in 2009, and with so much at stake in regard to the Clippers' ongoing rebuild, there will surely be a lot of attention placed on him.
Now that he's been drafted, what comes next is the process of ingratiating him with the rest of the team, from the culture, to the play style and the personnel. Of those personnel, it was most crucial for Wagler to meet with his new head coach, Ty Lue, and from what Wagler said, the pair hit it off.
The first thing that Wagler praised about Lue was his basketball acumen and the impression that Lue left on him from a technical standpoint of the game and with he curiosity and inquisitiveness that Lue had for Wagler's abilities and experiences in college ball.
Lue's Ball Knowledge
“He’s a really smart coach, that's the first thing I can say," Wagler said to the media. "Watching film with him, how he picked up so fast how our offense was at Illinois. He just asked question and [he can] see the game super easy and I've never seen anything like that. I was super impressed by it."
That technical knowledge from Lue was hard earned through years of experience as a former player and assistant coach as well as a head coach.
Understanding the x's and o's of each other is a major first step between head coach and rookie, so it's natural that a film session and pseudo-interview would be the first step that the pair made together.
Connecting With Coach
But there's another aspect to forming that kind of relationship that goes beyond the game itself, and that's the personal connect that needs to be formed.
On that end, Wagler had glowing praise for Lue again. He said that the pair had dinner and that Wagler felt that Lue was someone that "he could see a really good connection being built" and added that he saw Lue as a genuine person.
Bringing in a new player, especially one of Wagler's talent and draft position, into an organization is a critical process and even more so for the Clippers at this stage. Building a connection both on and off the court is the best investment they can make with Wagler at this point before games or training camps actually begin.
To see him have such high praise for Lue both as a coach and a person is exactly the kind of message that Clipper fans should be happy to see.
