Arkansas Needs More From DJ Wagner

For most of his prep career, DJ Wagner was the top-ranked player in the country. The son of one of John Calipari‘s best players was destined to inject life into the man’s career and revitalize the Kentucky basketball program that had struggled in recent years to succeed with future pros.

It was a heavy weight to put on that young man’s shoulders. It’s unclear just how much of it he still carries with him, but it is clear that the dreams we shared around BBN will never become a reality.

Far from superstardom, DJ Wagner has been a fine college basketball player. In order for the Razorbacks to salvage their season, they need the point guard to take his game to another level.

Arkansas Needs Offense Without Fland

Wagner has started in every game this season for John Calipari in Fayetteville, but he hasn’t always been the primary ball-handler. Freshman Boogie Fland was averaging 5.7 assists per game, more than doubling up DJ, when he suffered a season-ending hand injury. Not only was Fland creating opportunities for others, he was scoring 15.1 points per game.

The Arkansas offense ranks No. 100 in offensive efficiency. Only South Carolina is worse in the SEC. They have the worst 2-point and 3-point field goal shooting percentage in the SEC and they’ve scored 70+ points only once in conference play, a 78-74 loss to LSU.

Arkansas is slipping off the bubble and out of NCAA Tournament projections. There’s only one way to play back onto it, score more points. Wagner is one of the few capable of doing it, or is he?

DJ Wagner By the Numbers

Wagner dealt with injuries that sidelined him in spurts during his time at Kentucky. The seemingly constant back-and-forth made for inconsistent play, albeit with a few highs. He had a couple of 20+ point performances in non-conference play, but his best game was in March. Ironically, Arkansas was the opponent when he sank four three-pointers and tallied 18 points in a 111-102 win.

During that late-season three-game stretch, Wagner was 9-14 from three-point land. Despite that hot streak, he was just a 29.2% three-point shooter. He finished his year at Kentucky averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game on 40.5% shooting from the floor.

The numbers at Arkansas are similar, maybe slightly better. He’s scoring 10.1 points per game while shooting 41.4% from the field and 32.9% from three. The issue is that when they need more, he’s not delivering.

In SEC play, Wagner is shooting 35.5% from the field, he is 5-27 (18.5%) from three-point land, and he’s failed to reach double-figures in three of the seven SEC contests. In Arkansas’ first game without Fland, Wagner went 3-14 from the field and scored eight points. They won, but DJ wasn’t very good.

John Calipari built this team on the backs of bigs. Without Fland, they just don’t have many players who are capable of making jump shots. Wagner should be one of them, but as he’s shown throughout his brief career, he is not reliable enough to elevate his team.