Kentucky basketball needs more elite scorers: Here's how freshman guard DJ Wagner can help

Freshman guard DJ Wagner's never had a problem putting the ball through the basket and likely will be leaned on heavily to provide scoring right away for Kentucky.

Six of the Wildcats' top seven scorers from last season are gone. Senior guard Antonio Reeves, who averaged 14.4 points per game last season, is returning and lessens some of the pressure on Wagner and the rest of the Wildcats' freshman class. But ample offensive opportunity awaits Wagner next season.

A five-star signee considered one of the top-10 players in his class, he showcased his scoring ability the past three seasons at Camden High (New Jersey). The 6-foot-3, 165-pound Wagner averaged 22.5 points per game as a senior. He averaged 19.8 per game during his junior season and 22.0 as a sophomore.

The only questions surrounding Wagner's scoring prowess is the manner in which he goes about it: more volume than efficiency.

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But he started to show progress in that area last season.

"He's become a lot more consistent," said Rob Cassidy, a national college basketball reporter for Rivals.com. "I think he's eliminated some of those games where you'd go see him and he'd go 4 for 15 with a lot of turnovers."

Wagner's shot selection, Cassidy said, still leaves something to be desired. Cassidy compared Wagner to Emoni Bates, one of the most highly touted players in the 2021 class. When he was just 15 years old, 247Sports pondered whether Bates might be the best high school prospect since LeBron James. But Bates' decision-making offensively — never meeting a shot he didn't like — wasn't a strength.

The same goes for Wagner.

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"He's going to have to understand sometimes that the best shot is the one you don't take," said Eric Bossi, the national basketball director for 247Sports, "and to move the ball and relocate and get another one."

Given Kentucky's three other five-star signees — Wagner's high school teammate Aaron Bradshaw, who reportedly is recovering from a foot fracture and could miss the start of the season, along with fellow guard Robert Dillingham and versatile wing Justin Edwards — all are capable of creating their own shots, too, Cassidy believes the Wildcats have the ingredients in place for Wagner to cook on the court.

"He's at his best when he's got guys around him and he doesn't have to put all the pressure on himself to be the guy to take bad shots or 20 shots a night," Cassidy said. "If guys around him are clicking and he's staying within the offense and letting the game come to him, he'll be fine."

Bossi said his jump shot will be fine as well.

Wagner knocked down 49.2% (95 for 193) of his field goal attempts last year — and 35.3% (24 of 68) of his shots beyond the 3-point arc — for the NJ Scholars EYBL club.

"There's nothing broken with his shot or anything like that," Bossi said. "I think the big key is going to be for him to be an efficient shooter in college is (he's) going to have to adjust to dealing with bigger guards than he's used to seeing. … (But) I think he's a guy who's pretty competitive.

"So I would bet on him working to figure things out."

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Exactly what Kentucky coach John Calipari saw when he first started recruiting Wagner, the son of Dajuan Wagner, who played for the coach at Memphis.

"I have known DJ his entire life, and I’ve always wanted to coach him," Calipari said shortly after the younger Wagner signed with the Wildcats in November. "Above all, he is a competitor. He attacks the offensive end and is a versatile scorer, but he is equally as tough on defense. I love the spirit he’ll bring to practice every day, and I love that he wanted to be at Kentucky."

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.