Freshman DJ Wagner continues to elevate his game for Kentucky

For the fourth straight game, Kentucky freshman point guard DJ Wagner scored at least 14 points. He finished with 18 on 7-15 shooting against the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday afternoon, albeit in a 97-92 overtime defeat. It was the ninth time all year he’s scored in double-figures and the fifth time in his last five outings.

After a slow start to his college career, Wagner is hitting his stride just in time for SEC play. Something is beginning to click for the former five-star high school recruit.

Whatever issues were causing Wagner to miss easy layups at the rim early in the season have mostly disappeared. The 6-foot-4 floor general is now near-automatic when he gets to slithering in the paint — whether his shot is contested or not. He’s finishing with both hands now. His three-point shooting is improving, even if only slightly. Wagner is growing into a real threat from beyond the arc and defenders are having to respect it more and more.

Through 14 games this season (all starts), Wagner is averaging 12.8 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 rebounds in 28 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers are slowly evening out following a rocky start early on. He shot 31.9 percent overall in his first four games at Kentucky, only one of those outings coming against a legitimately good opponent in Kansas. Through his first three SEC games, he’s shooting 54.5 percent from the field.

Even better? The best version of Wagner in college has yet to be seen. There’s even more to come for the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week winner.