DJ Wagner talks about pressure of being a third-generation basketball star

DJ Wagner, a freshman guard at Kentucky, is trying to adjust to being in college, a new team, and all the other challenges that young players need to deal with. On top of all that, Wagner has the added pressure of being a third-generation basketball star.

Recently, Wagner opened up, explaining that he doesn’t necessarily feel pressure because of his family.

“Ain’t no pressure, I wouldn’t say,” Wagner said. “My dad and my grandpa try to, I say, help me as much as possible with that. They always tell me just to not worry about that kind of stuff.”

DJ Wagner is the song of Dajuan Wagner, who played for John Calipari at Memphis before going onto the NBA. His grandfather is Milt Wagner, who played at Louisville before moving on and having his own professional career, winning an NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’d later become an assistant college coach, including at Memphis for Calipari.

“But, it’s definitely an honor. Like I feel very blessed to even be able to step in those shoes behind two legends like that, but it’s definitely an honor,” Wagner said.

“But when it comes to like playing and stuff like that, they tell me to have fun and just be myself.”

DJ Wagner was a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He was the top-ranked combo guard and the seventh-ranked player nationally, choosing Kentucky over Memphis. Despite that acclaim, he didn’t want to compare his skill to his family.

While he didn’t want to compare his skillset, he did admit they sometimes talk about his grandfather’s championship. However, they mostly focus on college, for now.

“From time to time. We talk about like when they were in college and stuff like that. So, I talk to both of them about their experiences.”

Along with that, his dad and grandfather have also praised John Calipari to him, explaining what type of coach he’s going to be playing for at Kentucky.

“Just that he’s going to be a great coach,” Wagner said, “And that he cares. So, he’s going to help me as much as possible.”

DJ Wagner isn’t worried about touches

With all the talented young guards on Kentucky’s roster, there are people wondering if there’s going to be enough touches for everyone. However, DJ Wagner isn’t worried about spreading the ball around next season.

“I don’t feel no type of way toward it. We all just love to win and we all love to play basketball so I feel like we all want to do what we need to do win. We all like to share the ball, like each other’s games, and like to play as a team. We all want to see each other happy and being successful. So it ain’t really no one ball, one person want to shoot all the shots, not like that. That’s not what it is,” Wagner said.

“Whatever coach, whatever my team needs me to do, that’s what position I’m gonna play. I feel like that’s how it is for all of us. It ain’t really a specific position that anybody is gonna play. We’re all gonna just try to play different roles to the best of our abilities.”