Wait.. why don't YOU want him back then?
And he was only hurt for a small portion of the season. He played like crap from start to finish aside from a handful of moments.
Travis Branham has removed his crystal ball predicting DJ Wagner to Arkansas
- Thread starter twwilliams9
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Wait.. why don't YOU want him back then?
And he was only hurt for a small portion of the season. He played like crap from start to finish aside from a handful of moments.
Same……or be “coached” the way he was here.
Is Everyone forgetting how good he played before the injury? He was Really starting to hit his stride
this possibly shows that Cal understands he has to coach real basketball and not this NBA farm league horseshit he has subjected UK to for years.
If I were advising DJ, I'd tell him to go play for a coach that has playing time and can develop a player. Another season with the stats he had here and he's not playing in the NBA.
If I were advising DJ, I'd tell him to go play for a coach that has playing time and can develop a player. Another season with the stats he had here and he's not playing in the NBA.
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I'd take DJ back in a heartbeat. Some guys just need a bigger adjustment period going from being The Man to being just another cog in the wheel and playing against grown men.
Because when someone started that false thread I said that wasn't true and the Mods here refuse to open their eyes. Yet we have the one mod that was deleting Cal to Arkansas threads because he thought it was fake.
I don't see anything he does that is above average. People screamed this all year during the season.
You're an idiot. That kid busted his ass while he was here. Even when he struggled, it didn't affect his effort, hustle or enthusiasm. He was a great teammate who even told Cal earlier in the year to start Reed over him.
By all accounts, DJ is a great kid. Morons like you make us all look bad when you spew bullshit like this with no credible evidence to support your dumbass claims. Do us all a favor and STFU!
You are wrong. The middle part of the season he was pretty good, making nearly 40% from 3. He definitely was not the same after his 2nd injury.
I’d love to have a sophomore DJ. He didn’t have the year we were expecting but I think year 2 would be a lot better.
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I just am glad DJ stayed in CBB--he's going to be the age of most guys who will be entering this year as FR so he should be a better player no matter where he plays.
Agree with this and the same could be said for both Z and Adou, but specifically for Z as I honestly believe cal has no idea how to best use his skill set or if he does he isn’t comfortable playing that way therefore doesn’t allow it. Wanted both those boys back here very badly.
I think this is a bit harsh. Not living up to his hype isn't the same as "playing like crap". Yes, he was limited, but I think he was coming on before the injury. He may have lacked a solid jumper, but he brought effort. He's really not far off from being a really nice player. If he finished at the rim a bit better (and I think he will, in time), he'll be pretty solid.
He was 10 points and 3 assists & 2 rebounds averaging about 26 minutes per game. Averaged 0.8 steals. His analytics were bad...like real bad. He wasn't healthy though. He has a good body and has potential....his jumper will never be great....but he can take better shots and be more efficient to get good enough.
For a freshman, say he was a 4-star we would be talking so much about his potential for growth and how we can build from his freshman year. We had expectations that he was competing to be a top pick in the draft and he underperformed....so many here will only see that he failed in year 1 and he'll never be a good player....which most of you seem to be stuck in the Cal era where we only get guys a short time and they'll never be good unless they're here....
Many didn't see Juzang or Charles Matthews reaching the levels they did somewhere else...who would've thought Nick Richards and IQ would be our best players in 2019-20 and reach the levels they did...
I'm bullish on DJ Wagner long-term. Seriously...if he can just finish better at the rim then it takes him to another level because he could get to the rim...he couldn't finish. Another year of college strength and conditioning will get him better. Will he ever be a POY All-American? Probably not, but most players aren't.
For a freshman, say he was a 4-star we would be talking so much about his potential for growth and how we can build from his freshman year. We had expectations that he was competing to be a top pick in the draft and he underperformed....so many here will only see that he failed in year 1 and he'll never be a good player....which most of you seem to be stuck in the Cal era where we only get guys a short time and they'll never be good unless they're here....
Many didn't see Juzang or Charles Matthews reaching the levels they did somewhere else...who would've thought Nick Richards and IQ would be our best players in 2019-20 and reach the levels they did...
I'm bullish on DJ Wagner long-term. Seriously...if he can just finish better at the rim then it takes him to another level because he could get to the rim...he couldn't finish. Another year of college strength and conditioning will get him better. Will he ever be a POY All-American? Probably not, but most players aren't.
There's no outrage on my part. I don't follow any of that nonsense. I was just trying to point out to all the people who do follow it how dumb it is.
I've got to side with Catsfanbgky on this one. How well he played is not the same thing as having a poor work ethic, being lazy, or being entitled. They are not the same thing at all.
Reed played awful in the Oakland game. Threw balls away, passed on open shots, and just looked all around confused. Rob had 10 points. Wagner didn't even score. Reeves and Mitchell were the only two that came to play. Blame Cal if you want. But these kids mindsets beat them before they got on the court. Even with the awful coaching we all came to know if they would have executed they would have won. They expected to win and even if they didn't who cares? They had plans for the NBA.
question RDF would you take him back over the guys we are going after now Robinson and Lanier?
DJ said "no thanks" after he heard the BatCats took 2/3 from an Arky team who was #2 at the time and that the "NOmaHogs" were 4-5 vs. SEC opponents in May to wrap the regular season. He was scared the choking would be contagious!
Yeah, he had a lot of bad moments/games. But to be fair, his good games were very good. Inconsistent, like a freshman.
If Pope offered him a chance to play at UK another year I would be OK with that. Cal just did not coach him much. "Just go make a play," with the right coach and another year of conditioning i think he will be a good ballplayer. Some guys just take longer to develop.
NBA, NBA who gives a shit about the NBA. College basketball is not the NBA. Example wayne Turner, great college PG, great in HS, failed in the NBA. The NBA dream has ruined many a player who should have stayed 1-2 more years in college. Who knows DJ Wagner might be smart enough to stay and get better than just get drafted.
Think DJ is a perfect piece to bring into this team with a Robinson/Lanier.
The comments trashing the kid are ridiculous. Wth are people watching. Kid was All SEC freshman team at barely 18. He's not perfect, but come on.
The comments trashing the kid are ridiculous. Wth are people watching. Kid was All SEC freshman team at barely 18. He's not perfect, but come on.
Not sure what to say about this post besides… what a misread on the situation…..
So Wagner over Lanier and Robinson or if we can't get one of those? Shooting and making good decisions Chandler, Perry and Noah > Wagner. And anybody that hasn't been watching who Pope is recruiting for 25 it is a lot of guys that can shoot and score.
I like DJ. I do not think he will choose to stay at UK. If he did stay, he would be the best guard we have.
No because he's going to want to play PG and he's never been one. Cal tried to make the 3 guard lineup work-but the problem he never envisioned is that DJ was the 4th in that 3 man rotation and by loyalty and feeling bad for screwing this up--his evaluations of talent are fine but team building are trash--he ****ed the entire program by not playing Reed/Rob/Reeves together enough. Anyone with a basketball eye saw they were going to be the best trio together when they played in Toronto in July. What hurt DJ IMO was he was always allowed to jack up shots and played off the ball in HS and even AAU for the most part. Rob/Reed played in team environments and shared backcourt with elite prospects and were accustomed to finding their spots and not forcing things.
DJ shouldn't go to Arkansas for same reason. Cal's trying to overload the talent there and DJ would be placed ahead of Boogie Fland who is 100X the player as a PG and knowing how to run a team. Fland is going to make Cal look smart a lot this year when he's the same guy he's been. If he brings in DJ--DJ will want to be a PG again. DJ should go elsewhere but I'll believe he will when I see it happen. Cal/KP/WWW ties so deep with family that have to assume at the end of the day he'll be there but they have flirted with a lot of other guards still (International players as well as reclass possibilities)
This is the reason I want DJ at Arkansas. Cal won’t be able to help himself and implode the team’s record with bad lineups.
Speaking of bad lineups, how many games did we drop last year because of Cal’s refusal to play the best three guards together? I think it cost us at least six wins.
As long as he was comfortable coming off the bench, no promises. If he balked at that, it's a handshake and good luck!
As he's aged he has 0 feel for who is playing the best and sensing momentum in a game. That's a very important and forgotten aspect of a HC and he just chalks it up to "everyone is so tough in the conference" which is pure BS.
The re-insertion of Tre Mitchell at the end of year was final nail in the coffin for the '24 team. Mitchell didn't show enough to earn any postseason minutes and the HC refusal to understand if he did want to play him-had to be as a small ball 5 man because he was terrible as a 4 man in the SEC was disgusting.
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