D.J. Wagner made some plays in Kentucky’s OT escape. ‘You’re starting to see who he is.’

D.J. Wagner has been in the basketball spotlight since middle school.

Perhaps the Kentucky freshman can be forgiven if he’s not a college basketball star right off the bat.

Wagner spent most of his childhood — he didn’t turn 18 years old until May — ranked as the No. 1 player in his recruiting class. Hailed as the first third-generation NBA player before he was old enough to drive a car, Wagner lived in a basketball fishbowl long before he arrived in Lexington. The grandson of Louisville great Milt Wagner and the son of NBA lottery pick Dajuan Wagner, young D.J. showed at an early age that he had what it took to be the best in the family. And his reputation preceded him wherever he went.

But his first four games in college featured more misses than hits. And, make no mistake, his fifth game — a 96-88 overtime victory over Saint Joseph’s — had its negatives, too. But for those who didn’t pay attention to Wagner before this season and were left wondering what exactly they were missing, Monday night’s game provided a better picture of the still-new Wildcat.

“D.J. played better,” UK coach John Calipari said. “You’re starting to see who he is.”

There were plenty of glimpses of his true potential in those first four games. But the results were uneven and the play was often frustrating. He scored 13 and 11 points against the lesser competition of New Mexico State and Texas A&M-Commerce, respectively, out of the gate. He then went 1-for-12 from the floor with just one assist in that near upset of No. 1 Kansas. And — while many of his teammates enjoyed big nights in a 101-67 laugher against Stonehill College’s 2-3 zone Friday night — Wagner took nine shots, settling for 3-pointers on eight of those.

He often got good looks when he drove toward the basket in the early going. The speedy, shifty guard can get there at will, especially when turned loose in transition, but those shots rimmed out more often than not.

“That’s just how the game goes,” he said of the early misses. “Some games, shots just not gonna fall. You might miss easy layups. That’s just how the game goes. It’s all about staying in the gym and staying confident.”

On Monday night, Wagner kept at it. He was 7-for-17 from the floor — not great, obviously — but 13 of those shots were 2-pointers. And only two of those 2-pointers were jump shots. He scored a career-high 22 points. He dished out a career-high six assists. He shot eight free throws — two more than his total over the previous four games — and he made seven.

Amid Wagner’s early struggles, Calipari and his assistant coaches were asked if they were concerned about his slow start. The response, to a man, was not one bit.

“I am not worried about him because whatever you ask him to do, it registers and he does it right then,” Calipari said after game two. “… I am not that worried because whatever we work on he will get better at.”

If there was a knock on Wagner from those around him, it’s that he was too hard on himself. He couldn’t let the misses and the miscues go. And messing up on one play might affect the next one, a slippery slope on the court. The ultimate competitor — another area that no one questions — spent his entire life getting wherever he wanted to go on the floor, and when it got more difficult to make those plays happen, he started to get hard on himself.

“That’s something I’m still working on, you know?” he said Monday night.

Wagner got off to another slow start against Saint Joseph’s. Five points on seven shots in the first half. But then he came alive, attacking the rim and showing off that unique combination of skill and speed. He scored 10 points in the second half. He dropped seven points on the Hawks in overtime.

He made some of his biggest plays during some of the game’s biggest moments. And the Rupp Arena crowd roared its approval when he came through. It was noted afterward that Saint Joseph’s — the 15-point underdogs — put a scare into the Rupp crowd. Wagner smiled.

“That’s what it’s all about — playing in games like this,” he said. “That’s what makes you want to play. Being able to compete in games like this. I wouldn’t say it scared us. It made it fun. When they were hitting shots down the stretch, we were in the huddle like, ‘We good.’ Smiling and all type of stuff. Because we just knew we had to keep fighting. That’s what comes with the game.”

It was far from a perfect night.

Wagner hit two big shots toward the end of the second half to extend UK’s lead, then two big free throws with 3:59 left to make it a two-possession game. But he missed his last three shots of regulation — fifth-year player Tre Mitchell cleaning one of those up for the points that would ultimately force the overtime. In the final two minutes or so of that OT period, Wagner hit a free throw to make it a two-possession game again, made a layup with 90 seconds left to give UK a six-point lead and knocked down four more freebies at the end.

Toward the end of the game, Calipari put the ball in Wagner’s hands quite a bit. And the result was a victory. That felt good, he said.

“My teammates and coaches have been doing a great job of helping me stay confident, no matter what. Just telling me to keep attacking.”

This win was a team effort.

Mitchell hit two huge 3-pointers 44 seconds apart in OT to put the Hawks on their heels. Rob Dillingham was a spark off the bench once again. Reed Sheppard — three nights after scoring 25 on Stonehill — took just one shot all game, but he had four assists and five steals. Antonio Reeves scored 20 points on his 23th birthday. Others chipped in, too.

And Wagner got to show a little more of what he can do. He acknowledged afterward that he has to remember this is all a process. The competition is better than he’s ever faced before. The game is faster. He’s still learning. And growing.

“It’s unbelievable,” Mitchell said. “Because he’s such a coachable dude. He’s tweaking and altering pieces of his game every single day. He’s listening to Cal, and he’s taking what he has to say to heart. … He realizes the adjustments he needs to make, and when he makes them he sees the difference in his game. He’s progressed so much, and I think you’re gonna see that happen so much more as time goes on here.”

Mitchell also said that Wagner needs to remember that this is all a process. Very few players can become college basketball stars after five games. The guy who played in his 107th college game Monday night noted that Wagner isn’t alone in his quest for greatness. He has to be patient, yes, but so does everyone else in that UK locker room.

“We want to succeed. That’s why we’re here,” Mitchell said. “We want to put everything on the line. We want to show everybody what we’ve been working on. But it’s a marathon, not a sprint. And I think that he’s starting to understand that more now. And you’re going to see him grow tremendously over these next few months here.”

Next game

Marshall at No. 16 Kentucky

When: 7 p.m. Friday

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Marshall 2-2, Kentucky 4-1

Series: Kentucky leads 12-0

Last meeting: Kentucky won 82-54 on Dec. 22, 2012, in Lexington

This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 11:49 PM.

Ben Roberts

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-429-2848

Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006. Support my work with a digital subscription