DJ Wagner visiting Arkansas this weekend

[Catzman]

Arkansas is going to be good. Like competing for the SEC title good. I've thought this from the moment Cal left and continue to believe it.

It is going to be a tough pill for some to swallow.

We couldnt even compete for the top spot last year with more talent than Cal has at puss ass Akransas and did jack shit with it in the tournament beyond the SEC title. What makes anyone worried about an inferior team at an inferior school doing more?

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

Is Cal still coaching?

I'll believe a conference title when I see it.

 

[ThrowBackCat9]

 

[bowfreak]

Congrats to Arky for building a great roster. Wait until you take your first loss at home from a mid major that you are favored to beat by 15 pts. The first one is an anomaly. Then you get another one and then you lose at home to Vandy or South Carolina and then people start saying a home loss to Vandy or South Carolina is not that bad. The SEC is tough.

Then you win a couple of games in the SEC tournament over 3 to 4 years but don’t even sniff the semi finals. Then fans say, “we are young.” Then you get bounced out of the big dance in the first round by a double digit seed. Then fans say….”it happens to everyone eventually.”

Should I keep going?

 

[BlueRunner11]

Arkansas is going to be good. Like competing for the SEC title good. I've thought this from the moment Cal left and continue to believe it.

It is going to be a tough pill for some to swallow.

They’ll be solid sure. Honestly, it’s not a roster that looks that exciting to me besides Davis and Aidoo.

 

[BBNinSC]

He’s getting paid enough not to care I’d guess. 😂

Davis need to showcase for the NBA. He will not be satisfied as a bench player

 

[Jamal Mercer]

Arkansas will in fact be very good. Anyone that thinks so is not an automatic “Cal thumper”.

I think they’ll be good too. But the person I replied to is a Cal thumper.

And you have other motives if you keep wanting to repeat it here.

 

[BBNinSC]

Next season will be Cal’s best at Arkansas. He has a roster made up of mostly players that were recruited to Kentucky.
When he is recruiting to Arkansas, in his late sixties with his antiquated methods and the same assistants, he wont last much longer

 

[ukatecowboy]

PG- Fland
SG- Wags
SF- Davis
PF- Thiero
PF/C- Aidoo

Woo, a few dudes expecting to start are in for a RUDE AWAKENING at the Pig Sty Soirée 🤩

Wags a shooting gaurd?

 

[AzubuikeandFitch]

Arkansas is going to be good. Like competing for the SEC title good. I've thought this from the moment Cal left and continue to believe it.

It is going to be a tough pill for some to swallow.

One major hurdle- lack of coaching adjustments. Doesn't matter if you're on Secretariat at the Derby if the jockey doesn't know how to ride a horse.

There will be mismanagement of the roster and everyone knows what's coming. Just play an occasional zone on defense and run a high screen and roll on offense. That alone will keep it close even if you have mid major talent.

 

[TankedCat]

following Cal's M.O over previous years

His team will beat UK, and a few other earmarked games on the calendar that will give Arkansas some bragging rights and they'll ignore the head scratching losses.

I never understood how Cal could beat any big name team on the schedule and lose to any no name team on the schedule. It was maddening.

Arkansas fans won't hear it for now but they'll come around. He's motivated to prove himself to the program now. But once he does, he's worthless.

 

[Cold Stout Beer]

Cal orchestrating another commitment announcement

View embedded media

Awesome. The more young guys expecting playing time the bigger the train wreck. Lock him up, Jerrih Jones!

 

[BarefootBeach]

Ummm, they appear to have a pretty good roster. I could really care less, I literally yawned 3x reading this thread. Does anyone fear Cal? We know him, so the answer is no.

 

[TankedCat]

Bringing in Wagner late , smart move, Cal gets the guys to commit before he brings in the guy he is going to play over them

 

[redbird51]

Arkansas is going to be good. Like competing for the SEC title good. I've thought this from the moment Cal left and continue to believe it.

It is going to be a tough pill for some to swallow.

I agree

 

[redbird51]

Davis need to showcase for the NBA. He will not be satisfied as a bench player

Davis will not be a bench player. Come on man.

 

[Eight_Banners]

Arkansas is going to be good. Like competing for the SEC title good. I've thought this from the moment Cal left and continue to believe it.

It is going to be a tough pill for some to swallow.

2024 v. 2025

DJ Wagner < DJ Wagner
A. Reeves > Johnell Davis
J. Edwards < A. Thiero
T. Mitchell > K. Knox
U. Onyenso < J. Aidoo

Bench:
R. Sheppard > Boogie Fland
R. Dillingham > Billy Richmond
Z. Ivisic < Z. Ivisic
A. Bradshaw = Billy Richmond


Arkansas hasn't landed a PG yet. If Wagner goes to Arkansas, UK's PGs, Butler and Kriisa are pretty much the same or better than him in every metric.

Arkansas hasn't landed a PF yet. As long as they don't land JT Toppin or Owusu-Anane, Kentucky has the better PF than Arkansas in Andrew Carr.

At SG, Arkansas's Davis has a better PER than Brea, but Brea was the best 3pt shooter in college basketball last year, filling a specific role for this UK team. Davis may be the all-around better player, but Brea fits within a system designed for him to thrive.

At SF, Adou Thiero is better than Otega Oweh in certain metrics, but Otega Oweh was the #1 defensive SF in the portal. It seems that he was also chosen for a specific purpose.

At C, Kentucky wins. Amari Williams was the #2 overall defensive C in the portal, had a higher PER than Aidoo or Ivisic, and was only slightly behind Aidoo in Offensive efficiency.

That said, I think both teams will be good. It seems like Pope's choices were very precise, putting together the pieces for a successful system. Calipari, as always, has gone after the best athletes. We'll see who has the better year one.

 

[Elliott Tim]

Cal orchestrating another commitment announcement

View embedded media

I am so surprised!😉

 

[crawfords corner]

I cannot wait for Kentucky to play this vastly overrated roster Calipari has put together. Also, basketball Gods, please let them land DJ Wagner. Please. It will be the solidifying move that proves this roster is vastly overrated.

 

[MegaBlue05]

Arkansas is going to be good. Like competing for the SEC title good. I've thought this from the moment Cal left and continue to believe it.

It is going to be a tough pill for some to swallow.

Dude, you really seem to love Cal. He’s not here anymore.

I look for them to do exactly as we’ve done the last 4 years - high preseason ranking, 2-3 “wow” wins in the regular season, at least one December home loss to some no name cupcake and at least 3 SEC road losses to teams sitting at or below .500. Underwhelming postseason. Amazing recruiting cycle/offseason. Same results next year.

Even if Cal does happen to find success there, it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to do that here, so good for him. Guy quit on us years ago and was just collecting huge checks and being a condescending asshole for no reason other than because we all weren’t kissing the ring enough and were more concerned with winning basketball games in the postseason than ending generational poverty for the Shaedon Sharpes of the world.

 

[ukfan1622]

2024 v. 2025

DJ Wagner < DJ Wagner
A. Reeves > Johnell Davis
J. Edwards < A. Thiero
T. Mitchell > K. Knox
U. Onyenso < J. Aidoo

Bench:
R. Sheppard > Boogie Fland
R. Dillingham > Billy Richmond
Z. Ivisic < Z. Ivisic
A. Bradshaw = Billy Richmond


Arkansas hasn't landed a PG yet. If Wagner goes to Arkansas, UK's PGs, Butler and Kriisa are pretty much the same or better than him in every metric.

Arkansas hasn't landed a PF yet. As long as they don't land JT Toppin or Owusu-Anane, Kentucky has the better PF than Arkansas in Andrew Carr.

At SG, Arkansas's Davis has a better PER than Brea, but Brea was the best 3pt shooter in college basketball last year, filling a specific role for this UK team. Davis may be the all-around better player, but Brea fits within a system designed for him to thrive.

At SF, Adou Thiero is better than Otega Oweh in certain metrics, but Otega Oweh was the #1 defensive SF in the portal. It seems that he was also chosen for a specific purpose.

At C, Kentucky wins. Amari Williams was the #2 overall defensive C in the portal, had a higher PER than Aidoo or Ivisic, and was only slightly behind Aidoo in Offensive efficiency.

That said, I think both teams will be good. It seems like Pope's choices were very precise, putting together the pieces for a successful system. Calipari, as always, has gone after the best athletes. We'll see who has the better year one.

Nice post. For a prospect, you're a good one.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

He’s getting paid enough not to care I’d guess. 😂

We will see. We did just see that Self over-recruited at Kansas and now a guy just decommitted. I wouldn't rule out someone leaving Arkansas if DJ commits there.

And honestly, any UK fans big on Twitter should tweet the Arkansas PGs and let them know just how much Cal favors playing DJ lol. At least.. someone should let them know what they're in store for.

 

[Ukgold]

Good luck to DJ. Kid didn’t do anything to deserve all the hate he got from fans here. I think he would best suited moving away from Cal but still good luck.

Im sure Cals team will have no chemistry,they never do.

 

[MethodUK]

Wagner went from top 3 recruit to top 30 transfer in less than a year. Respect to him and his family always but he has a lot to work on... He won't be the real deal until he plays in the NBA and who knows how that will go.

 

[Jamal Mercer]

If Wagner plays major minutes next year I’m not too worried about Arkansas being a great team. They’ll be top 20 or so with what they have. Some big wins, some head scratching losses and not much success in the postseason.

 

[HagginHall1999]

I think a lot of those dudes will take a huge leap to year two and wanted that to be here at UK.

Specifically, I think Z is going to blowup next year.

May very well be the case but coming from someone (me) who was a fan of Calipari for a long time, another thing is for sure, he will screw it up.

Lost in the disappointment of the past few seasons is the turmoil that seemed to plague Cal teams for several seasons consecutively...really going back to pre-covid.

'20- Whitney quits, Hagans melt down at EOY

'21- Fletcher quits, Allen refusal to play

'22- Sharpe saga mid-season, total distraction and never plays

'23- The entire season, ending with Wheeler quitting

'24- Rob at EOY

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Good luck to DJ. Kid didn’t do anything to deserve all the hate he got from fans here. I think he would best suited moving away from Cal but still good luck.

Noone hated him. People correctly pointed out he had no business starting or playing that much.

 

[thedahc]

We found Cal’s burner account

Well then Cal is a next level genius. That account has been active since 2008. BEFORE CAL GOT HERE.

But I am sure he had it all planned out and got the account before the job to avoid suspicion.

I know it was an attempt at some sort of burn but at least be semi-intelligent when you come for somebody.

 

[WildcatforLife1965]

Who cares?

 

[thedahc]

All this proves, to those who are listening, is that these dips who go back to Calipari after the way he coached them the last time, only care about one thing: getting to the NBA. They DO NOT CARE about winning titles at the college level. I don't want them here, period.

Do you think the seniors we have here as transfers turned down big NBA opportunities and are now here because they "care about winning titles"?

If any of them had a chance to jump to the NBA earlier in their careers they would have.

You just have to accept that all college players #1 goal is to get to the NBA.

 

[thedahc]

I think they’ll be good too. But the person I replied to is a Cal thumper.

And you have other motives if you keep wanting to repeat it here.

Please do tell me my other motives to saying that I like Cal and love UK. I've never hidden either of those facts. Pretty open about it honestly.

He was kind to me and my family, my girls love him.

He has literally never done anything negative to me, ever. Full stop.

Sorry, I can't switch the flip to hate as easily as others. I also don't "hate" Roy Williams, Coach K, Rick Barnes, etc.

I'm not going to hate him because you want me to.

So @Jamal Mercer What is my motive?

 

[Fox2monk]

I think a lot of those dudes will take a huge leap to year two and wanted that to be here at UK.

Specifically, I think Z is going to blowup next year.

Hard to blowup when your coach won’t play you. Aidoo will get all the minutes.

 

[thedahc]

2024 v. 2025

DJ Wagner < DJ Wagner
A. Reeves > Johnell Davis
J. Edwards < A. Thiero
T. Mitchell > K. Knox
U. Onyenso < J. Aidoo

Bench:
R. Sheppard > Boogie Fland
R. Dillingham > Billy Richmond
Z. Ivisic < Z. Ivisic
A. Bradshaw = Billy Richmond


Arkansas hasn't landed a PG yet. If Wagner goes to Arkansas, UK's PGs, Butler and Kriisa are pretty much the same or better than him in every metric.

Arkansas hasn't landed a PF yet. As long as they don't land JT Toppin or Owusu-Anane, Kentucky has the better PF than Arkansas in Andrew Carr.

At SG, Arkansas's Davis has a better PER than Brea, but Brea was the best 3pt shooter in college basketball last year, filling a specific role for this UK team. Davis may be the all-around better player, but Brea fits within a system designed for him to thrive.

At SF, Adou Thiero is better than Otega Oweh in certain metrics, but Otega Oweh was the #1 defensive SF in the portal. It seems that he was also chosen for a specific purpose.

At C, Kentucky wins. Amari Williams was the #2 overall defensive C in the portal, had a higher PER than Aidoo or Ivisic, and was only slightly behind Aidoo in Offensive efficiency.

That said, I think both teams will be good. It seems like Pope's choices were very precise, putting together the pieces for a successful system. Calipari, as always, has gone after the best athletes. We'll see who has the better year one.

I agree with all of that except Tre Mitchell.

I know you wanted to compare Z to Z. But I would say 2025 Z > 2024 Tre Mitchell

 

[ib4ky]

 

[Fox2monk]

Arkansas will in fact be very good. Anyone that thinks so is not an automatic “Cal thumper”.

They will be good on paper, like always Cal will end up making them much less than the sum of their parts. They have suspect shooting. Davis may not even return to college, and we all know guys like Knox will play more than they should most likely. At the end of the day Cal will choke.

 

[Eight_Banners]

I agree with all of that except Tre Mitchell.

I know you wanted to compare Z to Z. But I would say 2025 Z > 2024 Tre Mitchell

Yeah. I'm not sure Cal puts Aidoo and Z on the floor at the same time. If so, that would be the right comparison.

 

[BBNinSC]

2024 v. 2025

DJ Wagner < DJ Wagner
A. Reeves > Johnell Davis
J. Edwards < A. Thiero
T. Mitchell > K. Knox
U. Onyenso < J. Aidoo

Bench:
R. Sheppard > Boogie Fland
R. Dillingham > Billy Richmond
Z. Ivisic < Z. Ivisic
A. Bradshaw = Billy Richmond


Arkansas hasn't landed a PG yet. If Wagner goes to Arkansas, UK's PGs, Butler and Kriisa are pretty much the same or better than him in every metric.

Arkansas hasn't landed a PF yet. As long as they don't land JT Toppin or Owusu-Anane, Kentucky has the better PF than Arkansas in Andrew Carr.

At SG, Arkansas's Davis has a better PER than Brea, but Brea was the best 3pt shooter in college basketball last year, filling a specific role for this UK team. Davis may be the all-around better player, but Brea fits within a system designed for him to thrive.

At SF, Adou Thiero is better than Otega Oweh in certain metrics, but Otega Oweh was the #1 defensive SF in the portal. It seems that he was also chosen for a specific purpose.

At C, Kentucky wins. Amari Williams was the #2 overall defensive C in the portal, had a higher PER than Aidoo or Ivisic, and was only slightly behind Aidoo in Offensive efficiency.

That said, I think both teams will be good. It seems like Pope's choices were very precise, putting together the pieces for a successful system. Calipari, as always, has gone after the best athletes. We'll see who has the better year one.

I don’t think Thiero is better than Edwards at all

 

[thedahc]

Vagina..

Imagine being a 49 year old like this.....is this where you thought your life would be?

 

[LmdCat]

The only surprise about any of this will be if he doesn't sign with daddy Cal. I stated a couple of weeks ago that I felt that Cal had asked DJ to holdoff until he suckered some other players into signing before signing him. I hope you suckers enjoy being DJ's backup.

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Do they have the shooters? Who’s gonna be the Antonio Reeves, Reed Sheppard or Rob Dillingham? You can out-athlete everybody but if you can’t put the ball in the hole consistently, you won’t go very deep in the tourney.

Davis shot 41% from three on 160+ attempts.
Fland took over 250 threes this year and made 37% of them.

They may not have an elite shooting team, but they'll have enough to compete at a high level.