Kentucky regains momentum with DJ Wagner, decision coming?

Momentum is shifting in Kentucky’s favor for its prized guard recruit in the rising senior class, DJ Wagner.

Despite Louisville picking up significant buzz in recent months following the program’s additions of Kenny Payne and Milt Wagner, the Wildcats have fought back to regain momentum with the five-star point guard out of New Jersey.

247Sports’ Travis Branham, who has an all-time hit rate of 93.67% on recruiting predictions, changed his Crystal Ball pick from Louisville to undecided on Friday. It was a decision the national recruiting analyst says is a result of growing buzz surrounding Kentucky behind the scenes.

I have now pulled back my Crystal Ball on DJ Wagner to Louisville as the race with Kentucky has become too cloudy.https://t.co/NWL5MzIazn

— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) July 8, 2022

“I’ve just basically been getting a lot of Kentucky buzz as of late,” Branham told KSR late Friday afternoon. “I do think Kentucky has a lot of momentum heading down the final stretch.”

Wagner is ranked No. 2 overall and No. 1 among combo guards in the latest On3 player rankings. Beyond the rankings, John Calipari has long viewed Wagner as his top priority in the class of 2023, largely in part due to his 20-plus-year relationship with the five-star guard’s father, Dajuan Sr.

Ever since Wagner emerged as a blue-chip recruit, the Wildcats have been seen as the overwhelming favorite. After a brief speed bump with the Cardinals making a push, Kentucky has regained control.

“Obviously, they have the relationship with Dajuan (Sr.) himself. They are in very, very good standing with him,” Branham told KSR. “I think they’ve done a great job of building a relationship with DJ Wagner himself, as with the other members of his family. They obviously also have his brother, Kareem (Watkins), on the roster. Kentucky’s got a lot playing into their hands. They’ve done just a really good job on DJ and this thing is seeming to turn a little bit right now.”

That’s not to say this recruitment is over, though. Wagner said this week he planned on taking a few more visits before announcing his decision, with Louisville certainly expected to receive one — assuming the visits still take place.

If he makes his way to Louisville, things could get tricky. That’s why Branham hasn’t made the complete flip to Kentucky — not yet, at least.

“One big piece to all of this, and one reason why I’m not going to make another hard prediction yet, is because DJ told me himself he plans on taking more visits,” Branham told KSR. “I think it’s reasonable to expect one of those visits to be to Louisville. He told me he didn’t know which programs he was going to visit, he wouldn’t give me names, but it is reasonable to expect a visit to Louisville. With that, there’s always a little wiggle room. You don’t want to make any super hard flip when that is still to come. That’s why I moved it to cloudy, it’s definitely become more of a toss-up to me with everything gather at this point.

“It’s going to be a wild couple of weeks, I think.”

While Branham isn’t quite ready to pick the Wildcats outright, a wave of pro-Kentucky predictions came in at On3 and Rivals late Friday, four in total. On3’s Jamie Shaw and I changed our Recruiting Prediction Machine picks to Kentucky, with Rivals’ Travis Graf and Rob Cassidy both doing the same.

On3’s RPM now gives the Wildcats a 59.4% chance to land the dynamic scoring guard out of New Jersey.

KSR reported earlier this week that despite Louisville’s continued optimism on the recruiting trail, the program’s inability to close with recruits and transfers thus far has caught the attention of competing coaches. The Cardinals have just one commitment in 2023 in four-star wing Kaleb Glenn — a Louisville native — and continue to swing and miss elsewhere. With the constant overselling and underdelivering, there is skepticism regarding just how long the honeymoon period lasts before the restlessness begins.

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s confidence has never waned, sources tell KSR. Wagner has been around the program since he was a kid and Calipari has been fighting for his commitment from the second he emerged as a high-profile basketball prospect.

Just how soon could that come? Multiple sources tell KSR that a decision could come by the end of the summer, as early as this month. When you factor in Kentucky’s momentum, it’s hard not to feel confident about the Wildcats’ chances.