What to expect from Kentucky transfer DJ Wagner

Arkansas basketball had a need for another ball handler with experience, and the Razorbacks reportedly took care of that Sunday.

From the transfer portal, John Calipari added another former Kentucky player to Arkansas’ roster in point guard DJ Wagner, according to Richard Davenport of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He is the third Wildcat from the 2023-24 roster to pledge to the Razorbacks, joining forward Zvominir Ivisic and wing Adou Thiero.

Wagner (6-4, 192) averaged 9.9 points and 3.3 assists in 25.8 minutes per game as a freshman last season. He scored in double figures 13 times — high of 28 points vs. Marshall — and recorded a points/assists double-double (18 points, 10 assists) against Georgia in mid-January.

Cameron Drummond, who covers Kentucky basketball for the Lexington Herald-Leader, told Natty State Sports that Wagner has a “great, tenacious mindset” on the court.

“At his best, he is effectively running a half-court offense, keeping defenses honest with his shooting ability and acting as a physical, point-of-attack defender,” Drummond said. “That wasn’t always the case, in part due to injuries, during his lone season at Kentucky. But there were some stark differences in what UK looked like when Wagner was on the floor versus off the court or injured.”

While Wagner is a capable scorer, he is first a sound facilitator. KenPom data shows he assisted on 18.7% of the Wildcats’ scores in SEC play when he was on the floor.

That figure placed him 17th in the league. For the season, his assist rate was 19.8%, which was No. 420 nationally.

“None of his individual stats popped off the page last season,” Drummond said. “But it was clear that Kentucky played in a much better flow and rhythm offensively when Wagner was at point guard.”

Wagner finished with 3 or more assists in 20 games, and 5-plus assists 7 times. He was on the positive side of the assist-to-turnover ratio in 21 of 29 games played.

Additionally, he only had four games with more than two giveaways.

“There’s still some hope Wagner can become a really good college player,” C.J. Moore of The Athletic wrote in Wagner’s transfer portal bio. “He’s at his best when he’s looking to set up teammates. The handle and vision are his strongest attributes.”

In terms of scoring, Wagner shot just 40.5% on nearly 9 field goal attempts per game as a freshman, and he hit 29.2% of his looks from deep. CBB Analytics shows he struggled at the rim (56.2% of his 89 attempts), and made just 35.6% of his 59 other shots in the lane.

Beyond the arc, he found the most success from the top of the key, where he made 16 of 43 (37.2%) tries. Wagner was 7 of 36 overall from deep against the best teams on Kentucky’s schedule.

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“He’s not an elite, explosive athlete and he’s not the biggest player on the floor,” Drummond said. “Because of this, Wagner needs to make some strides when it comes to consistent scoring – especially from deep – and facilitating without turning the ball over.”

Wagner seems to favor driving left when attacking the lane and the rim. Moore added the guard was better at driving to pass rather than driving to score, and he put up tough runners and floaters that hurt his efficiency.

Defensively, Wagner has some work to do. Moore wrote in Wagner’s transfer portal profile that he finds himself out of position off the ball “too often.”

There is also a leadership aspect to the guard. Drummond added that Wagner, the youngest player on a young Wildcats roster, carried himself with a maturity beyond his years.

“Wagner’s importance as a leader, despite his young age and limited college basketball experience, also was clear this past season,” Drummond said. “On a UK team without many vocal leaders, Wagner found his voice in a big way, and it was clear that his teammates responded to him.”