TORONTO– DJ Wagner put on his Kentucky game jersey for the first time yesterday.
But he made an instant impact. The 6-3 freshman guard looked like the most prepared of the available members of this top-ranked recruiting class for college basketball, scoring 16 points on 7 of 15 shooting, contributing six assists, blocking two shots, making two steals, grabbing two rebounds and making two three balls. as the Cats, who are representing the USA in this 23 and under Globl Jam international tournament, defeated Team Germany, 81-73, before a crowd of 1,500 in the opening round at the Mattamy Center.
Wagner would have made his father Juany and grandfather Milt, who both played in the McDonald’s All-American game before him and were NBA first round draft picks, proud,
Kentucky has been an assembly line for future NBA stars like Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Devin Booker, John Wall, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk. Wagner has similar potential to follow in their footsteps after just 10 days of practice.
Wagner’s basketball IQ reflects the fact he plays old school after competing against older players from the time he was in eighth grade, long before enrolling in Camden High. He has the same quick first step he showed in the U17s last year and can get downhill to the rim with an extra gear. He showed he can also hurt defenders with a step back three and showed the ability to keep the ball flowing with movement and cuts to set himself up for easy baskets. Defensively, he played with energy on the ball and moved off the ball to contest shots at the rim.
He needs refining his handle after committing five turnovers, but hey it’s only July.
Some 20 members of the Kentucky media showed up the next big thing and the freshman class at the old Maple Leaf Gardens to watch a gold standard SEC program at the crossroads. The Cats won a national championship in 2012 and were perennial visitors to the Final Four in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. But they haven’t been back since then and haven’t gotten past the first weekend since 2019. There was a time this spring when it looked like Calipari might not have more than seven scholarship players — five of them freshmen– because of players entering the draft, multiple transfers and missed opportunities in the transfer portal.
Calipari has stopped the bleeding.
And the Cats actually look like a Top 15 program again now that Calipari has persuaded fifth year senior wing Antonio Reeves to stay and picked up forward Tre Mitchell from West Virginia, giving him two starting experienced wings who can score. Reeves had 24 points on 8 of 16 shooting, including 3 of 7 behind the line. Mitchell had 20 and six rebounds and shot 4 for 6 from three after coming to life in the second half. In addition, Sophomore Thiero, who has grown five inches to 6-8, fleshed out his stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals, looked like he was pushing to earn a major role.
Kentucky needed Thiero, a seldom used guard last year, to start up front at the four since both of Calipari’s big men– 7-0 McDonald’s All-American Aaron Bradshaw and 6-10 Ugonna Onyenso– was out with injuries. Bradshaw, who played with Wagner at Camden, is out for the summer with a shoulder. Onyenso– who had six blocks in a scrimmage Tuesday– was out with an ankle injury, leaving Calipari short of size in an international tournament that includes Germany, Canada and a confederation of African stars.Calipari was forced to play a small ball lineup, with Mitchell playing 34 minutes and Thierro playing 28.
As for the other freshmen, Mcdonald’s All American forward Justin Edwards was limited to four points but did have nine rebounds, four assists and a steal. McDonald’s All America guard Reed Sheppard did not score but racked up six assists, three rebounds and two steals. And point guard Rob Dillingham chipped in six points on 3 of 9 shooting, three rebounds and one assist.
Calipari used eight in his rotation and should be able to go 10 deep with players he can put into an SEC game once Bradshaw and Onyenso are healthy again. The Cats struggled to make threes but still scored 81 points by pushing the tempo. They forced Germany– which may be their toughest competition– into 22 turnovers with a press and limited them to 35 percent shooting.
This is not a typical tournament. Last year, Baylor– the 2021 national champions– represented the USA here, and only won one game, even though freshman guard Keyonte George was a first- round pick. Team Canada, which is hosting this tournament along with the NABC– will play the Cats Thursday and Kentucky will play a team from Africa will play the Cats Saturday.
