D.J. Wagner, once the nation’s No. 1 recruit, embraces his role as a college basketball veteran

NEWARK, N.J. — As the Prudential Center’s public address announcer rolled through Arkansas’ starting lineup introductions, two players remained on the bench.

Then Darius Acuff, the Razorbacks’ leading scorer and a projected NBA lottery draft pick, was announced. D.J. Wagner was last, a distinction often reserved for a respected team leader.

It might seem unfathomable that Wagner, the former Camden High School star and once the nation’s top-rated recruit, is now in his third college basketball season. The 6-foot-4 combo guard continues to be an interesting case study in expectations put on high school athletes, this era of name, image, and likeness in college sports, and how one defines success.

But Wagner has embraced his role as a veteran for a Razorbacks team — which also includes fellow former Camden star Billy Richmond — that was ranked 14th in the Associated Press poll before Arkansas lost to No. 8 Houston, 94-85, Saturday night in the Never Forget Tribute Classic.

“You could say I take a lot of pride in it,” Wagner said earlier in the week. “It’s just an honor. It’s a blessing to be able to be playing under Coach [John Calipari] for three years. …

“I’m just happy to be here. Whatever I can do to help my teammates out, I’m happy to do it.”

When asked before Saturday’s game how many family members and friends would be inside the arena about 80 miles from Camden, he said, “I couldn’t even tell you. I know it’s going to be a lot.” He finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and two assists in a season-high 34 minutes, flashing what made him an intriguing recruit who now possesses an inconsistent college body of work.

He got past his defender for a crafty layup for Arkansas’ second bucket, then splashed a three-pointer to tie the score at 11. Early in the second half, Wagner dished a pass to Acuff for a three-pointer that cut what had been a 21-point Houston lead to 51-44. But after those two early buckets, Wagner did not score again until hitting two late three-pointers, when the game had all but been decided.

“Even D.J.’s got to play better, make better plays,” Calipari told one local reporter in the hallway after the game. Arkansas did not hold its scheduled postgame news conference, preventing The Inquirer from asking additional questions about Wagner and Richmond.

Wagner, who played his freshman season at Kentucky before following Calipari to Arkansas, is averaging a career-low 8.4 points this season. But he has improved his shooting from the floor (41.5%) and three-point range (34.9%). He also has totaled 33 assists against 10 turnovers while shifting more to an off-the-ball role. He is one of two players to start all 12 games, a sign of trust from Calipari as a steady presence with deep familial ties. Wagner’s father, Dajuan, played for Calipari at Memphis before being selected sixth overall in the 2002 NBA draft.

» READ MORE: DJ Wagner’s transition from top recruit to college fixture came with lessons: ‘Be grateful to play the game’

“A lot of these kids get ranked, then they’re trying to live up to rankings,” Calipari told the Fort Smith (Ark.) Southwest Times Record before the season. “What does the ranking mean? You’ve got to go in and compete and take what you want, but it could be a burden.

“I think with [Wagner], he needed to shed that and just be the player he is. Let’s see your best version. I believe his best version is being more aggressive, less dribbles, more attack. The things that he’s doing, the way he leads; he’s just matured.”

Wagner’s Razorbacks team gained national prominence in March with a surprise run to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 as a No. 10 seed. Arkansas upset No. 7 Kansas and second-seeded St. John’s before losing an overtime heartbreaker to third-seeded Texas Tech. Wagner acknowledged he “didn’t really watch” much of the tournament after the Razorbacks were knocked out, but called Arkansas’ Dec. 13 rematch victory over Texas Tech, which was ranked 16th at the time, “definitely personal.”

That win was part of Arkansas’ 9-3 start against an intentionally difficult schedule. The Razorbacks also already have a victory against No. 11 Louisville. Their other two losses are to No. 9 Michigan State by three points — when Wagner had 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, three assists, and three steals in perhaps his most impressive performance of the season — and to No. 3 Duke by nine points.

That is why Houston coach Kelvin Sampson called Arkansas the best opponent his Cougars, who advanced to the national title game last season, had faced so far. Sampson added he believes Arkansas has “as good [of] a chance as anybody” to win the loaded SEC, which included six other ranked teams in the most recent AP poll.

» READ MORE: Coaching Richmond star Maggie Doogan can be ‘stressful’. Aaron Roussell wouldn’t have it any other way.

The marquee nonconference, neutral-site matchup against the Cougars added to Wagner’s growing list of college experiences in “crazy games in crazy atmospheres,” he said. He played Kansas at Chicago’s United Center as a Kentucky freshman. Last season, he faced Michigan at the legendary Madison Square Garden. And “every game in the SEC, you know you’re going to fight,” he said.

Wagner’s calming leadership was on display Saturday when he approached Malique Ewin to say, “You got this” as Ewin uncharacteristically struggled at the free-throw line. Wagner’s biggest advice to the high-profile youngsters who enter the program is to remember that the uber-demanding Calipari “might be hard on you, but he’s just coaching you because he cares about you.” And with Acuff as the primary point guard, Wagner said he gets more opportunities to read and react to the defense.

“It kind of gives you more time to see what’s happening,” Wagner said. “More time to see a play before it even happens. You could be more aggressive, like attacking more, just from getting passes and not having the ball in your hands all the time.”

Yet the former Camden star whom Sampson singled out as “dynamic” was Richmond, who totaled 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, two rebounds, and two steals off the bench. It was a sentiment echoed by a spectator behind the basket, who hollered, “Billy Ball!” when Richmond first entered the game.

The sophomore’s versatility fueled the Razorbacks’ rally to cut a 40-19 deficit to eight points at the break. Richmond immediately hit a baseline jumper, a skill Wagner said his teammate has refined while connecting on 57% of his shots. Then Richmond sank a three-pointer. He drove baseline for a dunk that got Razorbacks supporters on their feet, then mean-mugged after swiping a steal underneath the opposite basket and lofting a pass to Ewin for the alley-oop slam.

“That’s who he is,” Calipari said.

» READ MORE: DJ Wagner gives back to Camden, and details his trust in following John Calipari to Arkansas

Added Wagner: “He gets in the game, the energy [is] going to shift, because that’s just the type of player he is.”

Acuff, meanwhile, amassed 27 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. He will likely join Adou Thiero, Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, and the 76ers’ Justin Edwards as former teammates whom Wagner will watch reach the NBA before him.

It is unclear whether Wagner will ever be regarded as a legitimate draft candidate again. He was not listed on last week’s top 100 prospects by ESPN, where teammates Acuff (No. 15), Maleek Thomas (No. 28), Karter Knox (No. 56), and Trevon Brazile (No. 82) were all included.

And without a defined path to the pros, it is far more practical (and lucrative) for Wagner to stay in college. He was one of the first high schoolers to sign an NIL deal with Nike, and has also landed partnerships with Express clothing and Marathon fuel during his college career. One of the Arkansas men’s basketball program’s biggest boosters is John H. Tyson, the chairman of Tyson Foods.

So Wagner’s third college season brought him back to his home state, where he was introduced last in Arkansas’ starting lineup. And he has embraced this unexpected role as the veteran for a Razorbacks team with aspirations of another deep March run.

“Really just taking it one day at a time,” Wagner said. “Just stay in the gym. Just trying to get better at everything.”