DJ Wagner like Dajuan Sr.? "No, totally (different)."

It’s easy to compare legacy recruits with their prior connections to a coach or program. Take Reed Sheppard and his parents, Jeff and Stacey, for example. The new No. 15’s pops said on the television broadcast his son is “way ahead” of where he was at 18 years old — “but I’m in the clubhouse with two national championships,” Jeff joked. The former Final Four Most Outstanding Player added that Stacey, a fellow Kentucky basketball legend in her own right, was “a much better shooter” and “better all-around player” than he was back in the day.

Now, they both believe Reed has a chance to do “something special” in Lexington.

So what about John Calipari‘s personal legacy recruit, the prize of Kentucky’s 2023 signing class? Dajuan Wagner Sr. was a superstar under Coach Cal at Memphis during the 2001-02 season, scoring 21.2 points per contest to go with 3.6 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 31.8 minutes per game. You guys know the rest of the story: considers a return for his sophomore season, Calipari rips up his scholarship paperwork, Wagner is drafted No. 6 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers, going on to sign a $10.7 million rookie deal. From there, his promising career was cut short due to health and injury issues, specifically after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and needing surgery to remove his colon in 2005.

Wagner has said he owes his life to Coach Cal for making the call to push him to the draft and take the guaranteed money. Now, his son is following in his footsteps and continuing his basketball legacy by playing for his former college coach.

Same position and height, same hometown and high school — Camden legends in their own right. Same player? Well, not exactly. Just ask the guy who has now coached both.

“No, totally (different). He’s got the same fight that his dad had, the same desire to win,” Calipari said in Toronto. “His dad had a different build, more explosive and would shoot from the white line — I’m not lying. He’d shoot from the white line, and I’d let him because he’d space out the defense. You knew he brought it up you had to be up there because he’d let it go.”

The list of 20-point-per-game scorers under Calipari is few and far between — he could only remember three doing it off the top of his head. One at each of his major stops: Jim McCoy at UMass (1989-90), Wagner Sr. at Memphis (2001-02) and Jamal Murray at Kentucky (2015-16).

“He’s one of the few guys, his father, who scored 20 per game for me,” he said. “Jim McCoy did it as a freshman, Jamal (Murray) did it, he did it. I haven’t had many that have scored 20 and he did.”

That’s not to say DJ Wagner can’t join that elite group or be great in general — Calipari is clearly excited about coaching his prized legacy signing.

“DJ is terrific,” he said. “… He can shoot it, he’s strong, he’s physical and he can get to the rim. And I’ll tell you what else he does: he fights screens.”

Wagner finished fourth on the team in scoring across four games in Toronto, averaging 14.0 points per contest on 42.1% shooting and 33.3% from three while adding 4.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 30.3 minutes per game. It was a solid all-around performance that saw the 6-foot-3 guard show off his abilities as an attacker, initiator and finisher, hitting tough shots while taking command of the offense. He’s the ultimate competitor, and it showed.

But there were also things to work on — that’s to be expected for 18-year-olds in July ahead of their freshman seasons.

“The only thing I’m trying to get him to do. When he catches like he’s guarded, he makes it. When he catches and slowly shoots, it’s not the same shot,” Calipari said. “I keep telling him, ‘Act like you’re guarded.’ You’re guarded, boom, shoot it. When you’re looking at a group, it’s July we’re going to get better.”

It’s a learning experience for Wagner and all of Kentucky’s young talent.

“When you have young guys, they’re not sturdy yet, which means they’re inconsistent,” Calipari said. “On defense, they’ll stand up. Then they stop playing on offense. They’re too erect at times because they’re not sturdy enough. And their shot, they move a little bit. It’s the same deal, they’re not sturdy. That happens to young guys, but they’re gonna get better. And this has been good for them to go against older players.”