Yesterday was such a special day for Kentucky fans with the introduction of the new head basketball coach, Mark Pope. However, now that it’s said and done it is back to the reality that Kentucky will be struggling through to build a roster for the upcoming season. Even more so now that freshman guard, DJ Wagner, has decided to enter his name into the transfer portal.
Like a lot of the players under former head coach, John Calipari, this one shouldn't come as much of a surprise to Kentucky fans either. Wagner was one of "Cal's guys" as DJ is the son of DaJuan Wagner who was coached by Calipari when he was at Memphis. I mean, I guess I wouldn't entirely rule out a return by Wagner, but with so many strong ties to the former Kentucky coach and also having ties with the University of Louisville through his grandfather, I would say the chances of that happening (returning to Kentucky) are slim to none.
The 6'3" guard had a fairly decent freshman year as he averaged 9.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game in his twenty-eight starts. Wagner dealt with a lingering sprained ankle injury throughout the season which appeared to have happened all the way back in November against the Miami Hurricanes. In my honest opinion, I don't think DJ looked the same since the ankle injury and struggled to get to the basket at times after that. I think this somewhat hurt his draft stock and thus is why he may be looking at another year at the collegiate level to help boost that back up.
With that being said, DJ Wagner didn't completely rule out an entrance into the 2024 NBA Draft and so that route is still available and is still to be determined. If the former five-star recruit ultimately decides that it is in his best interest to come back to Kentucky for a sophomore season then I think that would be the best decision for him as well. He would have a definite role on the team and I’d would love to see Mark Pope sit down with him and discuss how he would fit into Pope's system for the upcoming 2024-25 season.