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D. J. Wagner

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D. J. Wagner
No. 21 – Arkansas Razorbacks
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueSoutheastern Conference
Personal information
Born (2005-05-04) May 4, 2005 (age 19)
Camden, New Jersey, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolCamden (Camden, New Jersey)
College
Career highlights and awards

Dajuan Marquette "D. J." Wagner Jr. (born May 4, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He formerly played for the Kentucky Wildcats. He is the son of a former professional basketball player Dajuan Wagner and grandson of professional player Milt Wagner. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class.

High school career

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During the summer heading into his freshman season at Camden High School, Wagner was one of just three class of 2023 prospects invited to the USA Basketball July mini-camp in Colorado Springs.[1] He was invited back to a second USA Basketball event several months later, before the start of the high school basketball season in New Jersey.[2]

In his first game, on December 20, 2019, in front of a capacity crowd that waited more than an hour to try to get admission into the game,[3] Wagner scored 15 points despite missing 6 of his first 7 field goal attempts.[4]

Coached by former NBA player Rick Brunson,[5] Wagner helped lead Camden to 25 consecutive victories before the team's season was ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Camden earned New Jersey Boys Basketball Team of the Year honors by NJ.com.[6]

As a freshman, Wagner averaged 18.5 points en route to earning MaxPreps Freshman All-American honors.[7] On January 24, 2023 Wagner became the first third-generation McDonald's All-American, joining both his father Dajuan and grandfather Milt.

As a junior, he averaged 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 3.1 steals per game, helping Camden to the NJSIAA Group 2 state championship. As a senior, he averaged 22.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, leading his team to a 23–2 record.

Recruiting

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Wagner was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2023 class, according to major recruiting services.[8] In the middle of his junior season, Wagner saw his ranking of number one player in the class of 2023 drop to third by Rivals after holding the reign of consensus number one pick in the class of 2023 for two years since 2020.[9] On November 14, 2022, Wagner committed to playing college basketball for Kentucky over an offer from Louisville.[10]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
D. J. Wagner
PG / SG 		Camden, NJ Camden (NJ) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nov 14, 2022 
Star ratings: Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 6  247Sports: 6  ESPN: 4
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Kentucky 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  • "2023 Kentucky Wildcats Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2023.

College career

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Freshman season at Kentucky (2023–24)

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An All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team selection … A three-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree … Made 28 starts in 29 appearances … Averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game … Had 13 double-digit scoring efforts … Tallied a double-double against Georgia … Recorded 20 games with three or more assists … Had eight points and five assists in the SEC Tournament … Recorded 11 points, five assists and four rebounds, while draining a trio of 3-pointers in the home win over Vanderbilt … Posted 19 points and connected on a career-high four 3-pointers in the home victory over Arkansas … Logged 10 points and four assists at Mississippi State … Had eight points in the upset of Auburn … Tallied eight points and a trio of assists at Arkansas … Poured in 18 points and dished out a career-best 10 assists in the win over Georgia … Logged 18 points and had four assists at Texas A&M … Scored 16 points at home vs. Missouri … Back-to-back efforts with 14 points in wins over Florida and Illinois State … Posted 14 points, five assists and six rebounds in the upset of No. 9 North Carolina … Had a career-high 28 points, five assists and three steals in the win over Marshall … Poured in 22 points while adding six assists in the overtime win over Saint Joseph’s … Had 11 points and a trio of assists vs. Texas A&M-Commerce … Tallied 13 points, four assists and three steals in his collegiate debut vs. New Mexico State..[1]

Sophomore Season at Arkansas (2024–25)

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At the end of his freshman season on April 15th, 2024, he entered the transfer portal. On May 27th, he announced he would be joining John Calipari & the rest of his coaching staff at Arkansas for the next upcoming season.

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023–24 Kentucky 29 28 25.8 .405 .292 .766 1.9 3.3 0.8 0.2 9.9

Personal life

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Wagner is the son of Dajuan Wagner and Syreeta Brittingham. Dajuan Wagner was the 6th pick in the 2002 NBA draft. His grandfather, Milt Wagner, was a second-round pick in the 1986 NBA draft. He is seeking to become the first-ever third-generation NBA player.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Daniels, Evan (July 19, 2019). "Son of former Memphis star Dajuan Wagner excels at USA". 247Sports.
  2. ^ Carothers, Tom (October 12, 2019). "Basketball is a Passion Three Generations in the Making for Dajuan Wagner Jr". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019.
  3. ^ Friedman, Josh (December 20, 2019). "Boys basketball: D.J. Wagner impresses in debut as Camden rolls to season-opening win". Courier-Post.
  4. ^ Anastasia, Phil (December 20, 2019). "Camden opens basketball season with victory over Gratz". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  5. ^ Anastasia, Phil (August 26, 2019). "New Camden basketball coach Rick Brunson sees himself in players: 'I was that kid'". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  6. ^ Minnick, Kevin (March 25, 2020). "Camden is NJ.com's Boys Basketball Team of the Year, 2019-2020". NJ.com.
  7. ^ Divens, Jordan (April 3, 2020). "MaxPreps 2019-20 Boys Basketball Freshman All-American Team". MaxPreps.
  8. ^ "D. J. Wagner". ESPN. April 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  9. ^ Roberts, Ben (February 12, 2022). "Reed Sheppard in the new national rankings, and more Kentucky basketball recruiting links". Lexington Herald-Leader.
  10. ^ Borzello, Jeff; Biancardi, Paul (November 14, 2022). "No. 1-ranked recruit Wagner chooses Kentucky". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  11. ^ Thamel, Pete (July 30, 2019). "Can this 14-year-old phenom become the first third-generation NBA player?". Yahoo Sports.
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