DJ Wagner has been the top player in the 2023 recruiting class for several years. (Twitter Photo)
As soon as Kenny Payne became the new Louisville basketball coach, my opinion was that star high school recruit DJ Wagner would play for him.
I knew Kentucky and coach John Calipari had been well-positioned with Wagner for years and had not backed off him or done anything wrong in his recruiting. I just thought the bond between Payne and former college teammate Milt Wagner — DJ’s grandfather — was so strong that the high school player would pick Louisville.
Payne showed his creativity last week when Milt Wagner was hired as U of L’s new director of player development and alumni relations — a position outside the athletics department that will still keep DJ Wagner eligible if he signs with the Cards.
The 6-3 New Jersey player is considered either the No. 1 or No. 2 player in the 2023 recruiting class by just about everyone.
Wagner was in Louisville playing at the Nike EYBL over Memorial Day and while college coaches were not allowed to attend, a lot of Louisville fans and personalities (Darrell Griffith, Pervis Ellison) were there to see him. Kentucky fans were there too — just in smaller numbers.
DJ Wagner scored 29 points in his first game and averaged 19 points per game in five games in the event. He also showcased his passing and defensive skills.
Wagner and his teammates were not permitted to do media interviews but he got a lot of autograph and photo requests from fans at the games.
So is Kentucky out of it? Absolutely not.
Remember that Dajuan Wagner, DJ’s father, played for Calipari at Memphis. Milt Wagner coached under Calipari at Memphis. The family has a strong bond with Calipari and the UK coach is not going to concede DJ Wagner to Payne and Louisville.
However, I just think the bonds with Louisville are going to be too strong for Calipari to break and DJ Wagner will end up playing against Kentucky instead of for Kentucky.
10 Responses
I’m betting that Grandpa hires only have one year contracts !
Not a bad expenditure in this case.
I guess it comes down to if Wagner wants to ride the bench and not risk injury or actually be forced to play in college games before going to the draft.
Not every player is like that uk1999champs, your odds is as good getting involved in a car accident than getting injury playing ball.
I be shock if he comes to UK Larry.
me too
He has one bond at Louisville. His dad played for John and his family was really help while at Memphis. Also his half brother is at Kentucky. His whole family loves John including Milt. He may even go to Memphis to not disappoint his family or go Pro.
Now that is a different take Jerry but in today’s world, who knows. You might be right
It is sad when it comes down to how much can you pay my Grandpa for his Grand sons NIL.
But it is all fare in the basketball world now. And if I know Kentuckians, Kenny Payne is not going to be loved much longer at Ky, but when we put a whuppin on there A.. this year at Rupp, it wont matter if they won that battle for Wagner or not.
I hope where ever Wagner go’s, he at least has the B…S to play in the games. There seams to be a loss of love for the game, when it became all about the money.
Simple question, What would any of us do in his situation? I know what I and most would do. I love Kenny Payne but with any luck the gutless NCAA will get to them before he does. That’s our only chance and that is at least an 80 to 1 long shot. And we know those sometimes pay off. LOL!
We would get Grandpa a job and go for the most money. But for sure get on court and show case what got me there, for the love of playing.
Time will only tell if Kenny Payne can coach, looks like he can recruit, and you have to have the horses to win the race.