DJ Wagner is "probably playing better than any guard in the country" over last month

On Monday afternoon, during his pre-South Carolina press conference, Kentucky men’s basketball assistant coach Chin Coleman didn’t quite understand why anyone would suggest that freshman point guard DJ Wagner “struggled” early on this season.

“DJ Wagner, he’s — you say struggled. I don’t know. Because he didn’t play up to his level in the Kansas game? Everybody thinks he struggled?”

The Kansas game — a tough loss in a neutral setting for Kentucky in just the third contest of the season — was easily Wagner’s worst outing as a Wildcat yet. He finished with just four points on an ugly 1-12 shooting mark. Through his first four games at UK, the 6-foot-4 point guard shot just 31.9 percent overall from the field.

But that was over two months ago now. Ever since then, Wagner has looked every bit like the five-star recruit he was out of high school. On Monday, the Camden, NJ native picked up his third SEC Freshman of the Week award for his performances against Mississippi State and Georgia — both wins for Kentucky. He’s been pretty good for a while now.

But it’s not that Wagner “struggled” at the beginning of the season, it’s just that he didn’t play anywhere close to what he’s doing right now.

“We never doubted DJ Wagner,” Coleman added. “I would say in the last eight games, he’s probably playing better than any guard in the country. And consistently. It’s a long season. It’s a long season. Him getting familiar with everybody, when to pick his spots, how to get everybody involved, and still set the table, feed everybody, and then obviously take a play for himself, I think he had to go through that a little bit.”

Look at the numbers from Wagner’s last eight outings and Coleman might be onto something, even if the comment was a tad hyperbolic.

Wagner is averaging 12.9 points, 3.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and just 1.8 turnovers in 29 minutes per game over his last eight. He’s doing so while shooting over 50 percent from the field and right at 40 percent from distance. Kentucky is 7-1 during those games, the lone loss coming against Texas A&M when Wagner still finished with 18 points and four assists on 7-15 shooting.

He seems to be getting better with each game, too. Wagner went from missing point-blank layups at the rim to finishing through contact better than any of his teammates (just ignore that fastbreak layup he butchered against Georgia). He’s shooting over 55 percent on two-pointers over his last eight games.

Wagner’s decision-making is coming along, too. In addition to his 18 points, he dished out 10 assists in his most recent outing against Georgia — his first college double-double. He’s steadily rounding into a very, very good basketball player who is only getting better. No surprise to those who watch him every day in practice.

“Probably the toughest kid on our team in terms of a mental standpoint. Very strong-minded,” Coleman said. “We never doubted, would he ever catch a groove and get in a rhythm in terms of him playing at a high level and being a good basketball player for us. Because his mind is in the right place. Most of the time, when your mind is right, your game is right. He’s got the right spirit so we wasn’t concerned about him being a good basketball player for us. And obviously, not playing up to whoever those naysayers’ capabilities are, but for what our team needs, he’s all about that.”

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