The DJ Wagner vs. Reed Sheppard showdown is OFF, per report

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On3 image — Photos courtesy of Les Nicholson (left) and On3

Welp, it was a fun idea while it lasted.

According to WDRB’s Rick Bozich, two of the top rising seniors in all of high school basketball, DJ Wagner and Reed Sheppard, no longer plan to play against each other at the end of the month. It was initially reported last week that a potential AAU matchup between Wagner’s NJ Scholars (EYBL) and Sheppard’s Midwest Basketball Club (3SSB) was being planned for May 27 at Valley High School in Louisville.

The NJ Scholars will already be in Louisville that weekend for the third session of this summer’s Nike EYBL circuit, but now a crossover matchup against the Adidas-sponsored program has been put off. NJ Scholars program director and former Louisville Cardinal, Pervis Ellison, told Bozich that plans were in the works for weeks but ultimately fell through due to a “scheduling conflict”.

The game will not be rescheduled.

Pervis Ellison says AAU matchup between D.J. Wagner & Reed Sheppard Friday May 27 at Valley High School is now OFF due to "scheduling conflicts."

More from Ellison on that & recruitment of Aaron Bradshaw.https://t.co/76BWdNaitV
— rickbozich (@rickbozich) May 18, 2022

But there is still some good news. Wagner (arguably the top target on Kentucky’s Big Board) and the NJ Scholars, which also includes class of 2023 four-star center Aaron Bradshaw (a high Kentucky target), will still participate throughout the weekend (May 28-30) of the EYBL session at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. Tickets are not yet on sale. The NJ Scholars will play five games across the three-day event.

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Sheppard, who is the lone Kentucky commit for the class of 2023, will not play at all in Louisville that weekend. Bozich did add that Wagner’s high school team (Camden) could play Sheppard’s (North Laurel) during the upcoming fall basketball season.

This game would have been a prime opportunity for Kentucky and Louisville fans alike to check out Wagner and Bradshaw in person. Both schools are heavily recruiting them and are seen as the two frontrunners to land Wagner of his services. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case.