Kentucky signee D.J. Wagner with his family. (UK Athletics/Chet White Photo)
D.J. Wagner’s father, Dajuan Wagner, participated in the McDonald’s All-American game in 2001 when he was a senior at Camden High School (NJ) while his grandfather, Milt, played in the same game in 1981.
Now D.J. Wagner, a Kentucky signee, has been selected to play in this year’s all-star game in Houston March 28 that brings together the nation’s best talent.
Wagner continues to be a top five prospect in the 2023 recruiting class and recently he had 27 points in the HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass. Kentucky coach John Calipari came straight from UK’s win at Tennessee to watch Wagner and teammate Aaron Bradshaw, who is also a UK signee.
“It is definitely an honor to know that they (UK coaches) support us that much to watch us play and cheer us on,” Wagner said in an interview with Rivals.com’s Krysten Peek.
Wagner’s father played for Calipari at Memphis and his grandfather coached with Calipari at Memphis. Wagner was seen as a Kentucky lean for two years but took his time before officially making his commitment.
“I just wanted to make sure I knew for sure where I wanted to go and where I was comfortable and would feel at home the most,” the UK signee said.
He likes that Calipari’s advice to him has been to “keep working hard, playing hard and have fun and enjoy high school.” He told Wagner he could worry about getting ready for college basketball next year.
“I talk to him and text,” Wagner told Peek. “I talk to him a lot. It’s hard in season but he makes time to text or call me.”
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To see Wagner’s full five-minute interview with Peek go to https://kentucky.rivals.com/news/one-on-one-with-five-star-kentucky-commit-dj-wagner.
