Kentucky guard DJ Wagner named SEC Freshman of the Week

After playing the best two games of his young college career in back-to-back outings, DJ Wagner has been recognized as the Southeastern Conference’s Freshman of the Week. The league announced the news on Monday afternoon.

This is a well-deserved honor for Wagner, who averaged 25.0 points and 5.5 assists per game during Kentucky’s two wins last week against Saint Joseph’s and Marshall. The Wildcats won both games, beating St. Joseph’s in overtime 96-88 on Monday before smacking Marshall 118-82 on Friday in a record-breaking performance. Wagner, who struggled at times in his four college games, was spectacular in both victories.

Against St. Joseph’s, Wagner went for 22 points, six assists, three rebounds, one steal, one block, and three turnovers on 7-17 shooting (1-4 3PT) in 36 minutes played. A few days later against Marshall, the 6-foot-3 guard posted a career-best 28 points in addition to five assists, three steals, one rebound, one block, and one turnover on 10-14 shooting (2-5 3PT) in just 26 minutes of action. Wagner shot a combined 13-15 from the free-throw line in those two outings.

Florida forward Tyrese Samuel was named the SEC Player of the Week.

⛹️‍♂️WK3 | SEC Mens Basketball Weekly Awards

FRESHMAN: D.J. Wagner@KentuckyMBB x #SECMBB pic.twitter.com/rJ5Z63SlYM

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 27, 2023

On the season, Wagner is averaging 14.5 points, 3.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game for Kentucky. He’s upped his overall field goal percentage to 41.0 thanks to his play last week and is shooting 76.2 percent from the line. Wagner has started all six games for the ‘Cats while averaging 28.7 minutes per contest. He showed off his clutch gene as well, going 5-6 from the stripe down the stretch against St. Joseph’s.

“DJ, A, is a great kid. Hard worker. So you knew it was just a matter of time,” Kentucky assistant coach Chuck Martin said of the rookie on Monday. “The advantage that we have is we’re with him every day and he’s got a great spirit. He’s got a great spirit about him. He’s smiling, he’s high-fiving, even on the days where he maybe is not playing to his potential.

“So you know it’s just a matter of time that he was gonna break out. And hopefully he can just continue to be consistent as the season goes on. Which is hard for us to ask of an 18-year-old. But he’s been really good.”

This honor marks the 95th time in the John Calipari era that a Kentucky player has won SEC Freshman of the Week. It is the first weekly SEC honor for any Wildcat so far this season. Don’t expect it to be the last.