Tag: DJ Wagner

Draft prospect Boogie Fland: ‘When the game’s on the line, I want the ball in my hands – that’s where I thrive’

Boogie Fland, a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft (No. 20 on our latest Aggregate Mock Draft), is quickly making a name for himself as a freshman under John Calipari in his first year coaching Arkansas after leaving Kentucky. Standing …

Boogie Fland, a projected first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft (No. 20 on our latest Aggregate Mock Draft), is quickly making a name for himself as a freshman under John Calipari in his first year coaching Arkansas after leaving Kentucky.

Standing at about 6-foot-2 and weighing just under 180 pounds, Fland will draw comparisons to a former Calipari-coached guard Rob Dillingham, the 8th overall pick in last year’s draft, or a little-known guard drafted out of Vanderbilt named Darius Garland.

Known for his shooting touch, poise, playmaking and his ability to thrive both on-ball and off-ball, Fland is already showcasing his potential as a future NBA guard.

Following a clutch performance against Miami, Fland spoke with HoopsHype and reflected on the start of his true freshman season, his ability to close games, his playstyle, playing in high-intensity situations early in the year and more.

Former Kentucky guard joining John Calipari in Arkansas

Former New Jersey guard DJ Wanger has committed to Arkansas.

After a solid freshman season for the University of Kentucky, D.J. Wagner will have a new home next season. One of the top guards to emerge from New Jersey over the past decade, Wagner will follow John Calipari to Arkansas out of the transfer portal.

In his only season at Kentucky, Wagner averaged 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. He was also named the SEC Freshman of the Week three times and was a member of the All-SEC team. While. Wagner now has to adjust to a new team; he will not be the only player with Kentucky ties on the roster.

Wagner, a consensus five-star recruit, could have been an interesting fit at Rutgers. But Arkansas is a stronger pathway to playing time given how deep the Rutgers backcourt is currently.

Wagner will be joining two former Wildcats in Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic. Since Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas, three players entered the transfer portal after Calipari left Kentucky for a new program.

DJ Wagner has committed to Arkansas, per @ArRecruitingGuy pic.twitter.com/n52T1SYSIo

— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) May 27, 2024

 

As Wagner looks to take his game to the next level, he will have a head coach to rely on who he is comfortable with. Even though Wagner struggled at times last year, Calipari continued to give him chances. Towards the end of the season, he rewarded his coach’s faith, scoring at least 10 points in three of his final six games.

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In that span, Wagner made 10 three-pointers. 

In his first year with Arkansas, Wagner will need to be consistent as with Kentucky, he struggled to score at times. In the first round of March Madness, Wagner did not score a point in Kentucky’s 80-76 loss to Oakland.

If he can take a developmental leap in his second season in the SEC, then Wagner could be a very good fit with Arkansas.

USC transfer target D.J. Wagner will visit John Calipari and Arkansas

D.J. Wagner visiting Arkansas suggests the Razorbacks, not USC, are the likely favorite to land him.

The transfer portal drama surrounding former Kentucky Wildcat D.J. Wagner has taken a turn, very possibly away from USC and Eric Musselman. Wagner will reportedly visit John Calipari and Arkansas this coming weekend. CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein had the news first.

Wagner played for Calipari last season at Kentucky. He did not have a great season. He showed glimpses of his potential here and there, but was not consistently able to be a high-level performer for the Wildcats. Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard, and other players on the 2024 Kentucky roster were able to fulfill their potential or at least come close to doing so. Wagner could not be placed in that same category. The game did not come as naturally to him in Lexington.

The fact that Wagner is visiting Calipari, however, suggests that Wagner and Calipari think that with another year of working together, they can both help each other. If Wagner was bitterly disappointed with the coaching job Calipari did this past season at Kentucky, he wouldn’t want to reunite with Cal at Arkansas. A visit to Fayetteville would have been out of the question. If we are being honest here, Wagner going to USC appears to be less likely, and Arkansas should be considered the favorite. Follow Razorbacks Wire for more coverage.

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USC continues to try to pull D.J. Wagner from Kentucky in the portal

Many analysts feel USC needs a high-end transfer in addition to the mid-major transfers it has picked up.

USC is in a battle for Kentucky transfer portal prospect D.J. Wagner. He played for John Calipari last season with the Wildcats, so Arkansas hopes to make a run at Wagner and bring him to Fayetteville.

It’s quite a story: Arkansas’ current coach and Arkansas’ former coach, USC boss Eric Musselman, are both involved in a portal pursuit for a player who was a five-star prospect out of high school. This could be the high-end transfer USC needs to truly increase its upside for the 2024-2025 Big Ten season.

USC has picked up a number of transfers under Musselman, but they come from the mid-major ranks. Consider former Northern Colorado forward Saint Thomas, who was named to the first team of the Big Sky Conference in 2024. He transferred to USC. Thomas, a 6-foot-7 junior from Omaha, averaged 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game last season. He was an underrated player in the 2024 draft class and his stock could rise in 2025 with the transfer to USC.

That pickup and other transfer pickups should help USC, but to what degree? Some in the college basketball industry think the Trojans need higher-upside players in the portal. D.J. Wagner comes across as one such example.

Let the Musselman-Calipari battle continue.

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Former New Jersey five-star DJ Wagner is in the transfer portal

Former five-star Dj Wagner is set to enter the transfer portal after one season at Kentucky.

DJ Wagner entered the transfer portal on Monday following one season at Kentucky. The loss of Wagner is the latest exodus from Kentucky following John Calipari’s departure from the program.

Calipari, the head coach who recruited Wagner to Kentucky, left last week to become head coach at Arkansas. The legendary Calipari recruited Wagner, a five-star guard from Camden High School (Camden, New Jersey).

He was the sixth-ranked recruit in the nation in the class of 2023 per Rivals.

Wagner was a McDonald’s All-American in high school. He averaged 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game last year as a freshman at Kentucky.

There is certainly speculation that Wagner could join Calipari at Arkansas, a natural fit it would seem for both parties.

A 6-foot-4 combo guard, Wagner is a good distributor of the ball and an effective shooter. He shot 40.5 percent from the floor as a freshman.

As for Rutgers, it is doubtful there would be much interest. With a five-star guard coming in and Rutgers boasting a deep backcourt that includes Jeremiah Williams and Eastern Michigan transfer Tyson Acuff (21.7 points per game last year, which ranks eighth in the nation).

Dylan Harper, a five-star guard fresh off being Co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game, is expected to start for Rutgers this season.

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And there is also Jamichael Davis, who flashed plenty of times as a true freshman, scoring 5.6 points per game in 31 appearances.

Wagner was not offered by Rutgers coming out of high school.

2024 NBA Mock Draft: Latest first-round projections at midway point of season

Rookie Wire took a look at the 2024 NBA draft class and where the top prospects stand as of Feb. 1.

The top NBA draft prospects worldwide have collectively reached the second halves of their respective seasons as they look to showcase themselves in front of scouts and executives.

The class this year has seen several players help their stock, while others have struggled and fallen down draft boards. Some players have also dealt with recent injuries and other factors that have prevented them from reaching their potential.

The draft is widely considered open at the top of the board, with several prospects in the conversation to be the first selection. Unlike last year, when Victor Wembanyama was the consensus No. 1 pick, there is no clear-cut choice this year.

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Prospects will continue to see their standing fluctuate over the remaining two-plus months of action on the court as scouts have more time to evaluate them. The sheer unknown atop the draft board should create plenty of storylines to follow over the remainder of the season.

The NBA announced on Wednesday that the draft will be expanded to a two-night format, with the first round set to take place on June 26 at the Barclays Center. The second round will be at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in New York the following night.

Rookie Wire looked at the class and where the top prospects stand at this point of the season. The order was determined by the reverse order of the NBA standings as of Feb. 1.

Note: Player fit wasn’t necessarily taken into account with each pick. Pick protections and other notes courtesy of Tankathon.

Post Game: Texas A&M drops a heartbreaker to Arkansas on the road, 78-77

Wade Taylor’s career night 41 points was not enough to get past Arkansas on Tuesday night.

Texas A&M (10-7, 1-3 SEC) dropped their 3rd SEC game in a last-second 78-77 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks (10-7, 1-3 SEC) at Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday.

The Aggies started off the game back to their old ways of missing everything to start the game and missing starters. Almost 10 minutes into the matchup, A&M was down 19-5 and could not stop fouling the much longer, athletic Arkansas roster. Nothing changed for most of the half; the Aggies continued to miss shots and play poor perimeter defense.

History was looking to repeat itself early in more ways than one way. First, the Aggies again went cold from the field like too many games this season, and they have only won a single game at Arkansas in their last 16 attempts. Even with a late push to cut a 20-point deficit down to 12, the Aggies ended the half with a foul, giving Arkansas two more free points. A 1-15 shooting output from the three-point line was not going to get it done as they went into the locker room down 46-32

(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

The second half started off with an encouraging rate of play after star guard Wade Taylor IV stole the ball for an easy layup. A&M was able to cut the lead back down to 10, but the play got sloppy for both teams, committing some ticky-tack fouls before they settled back into a calmer pace. Even with that, both teams went ice cold from the field, with Wade Taylor IV having once again to resort to hero ball, pulling the back to within four points.

Fouls on top of fouls slowed the game to a snail’s pace as both teams traded free throws for about ten minutes, with the Aggies unable to gain any ground. As the refs blew whistle after whistle, Wade Taylor was finally able to close the gap and tie the game with under a minute left at 74-74. With 7.6 to play, Taylor hit an incredible trademark-like three to give the Aggies their first game lead at 77-76.

However, history is a great teacher of what you might be able to expect, and with just seconds left on the clock, Arkansas gave the A&M a lesson. Down one, the Razorback’s Tramon Mark answered Taylor’s three with a stomach-turn shot right over Jace Carter’s outstretched arm for the game-winning shot. Arkansas earned their first SEC win with a 78-77 victory and dropping the Aggies to 1-16 when they travel to Razorback territory.

NOTE: Henry Coleman did not suit out

Below are the Aggie critical contributors from the game:

Wade Taylor IV:  41 points (career high) / 6 rebounds

Andersson Garica:  10 points / 12 rebounds

Texas A&M will be back on the road when they travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU on January 20 at 3:00 pm CT.

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How to watch: Texas A&M vs. Arkansas basketball game

The Aggies will look to double up on SEC wins when the travel to Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks

Texas A&M (10-6, 1-2 SEC) will be on the road against the Arkansas Razorbacks (9-7, 0-3 SEC) at Bud Walton Arena on Tuesday at 8:00 PM CST.

The Aggies had a major bounce back when they welcomed the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats Reed Arena to a rowdy bunch of A&M students. Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford put on a show, scoring 59 points and grabbing 14 rebounds on the overtime win.

Tuesday will be on paper, which should be an easier task than the prior two games. However, history is on the Razorbacks’ side whenever the Aggies travel to battle Arkansas on their home turf. Even though they are a few games above .500 and have zero SEC wins, the Aggies are 1-15 when they play Arkansas on their home court.

This will be a perfect game to see if Coach Buzz Williams has his team back in the right mindset and we’ll get to find out if they have finally found their jump shot again.

The A&M SEC opponents consist of hosting Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee at Reed Arena to highlight the home slate. The Aggies’ road foes include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.

Watch: Highlights from the Texas A&M 97-92 victory over the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats

Watch the best plays from the 97-92 overtime win at Reed Arena on Saturday.

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team had been struggling the first few games of SEC play due to poor shooting performances and simply just trying to find offense outside of Wade Taylor IV playing hero ball.

I believe most A&M fans were expecting the trio of Wade Taylor IV, Tyrece Radford, and Julius Marble to be a force to be reckoned with this year. That’s not quite what happened, though; Taylor has been a little up and down to start the season, Radford missed multiple games coming back a tad bit rusty, and Marble hasn’t stepped a foot on the court due to what’s only being described as a “university issue.” the court this

After starting SEC play 0-2 and witnessing the horrendous shooting streak, an outsider could’ve reasonably assumed this Aggie team might not be as good as advertised at the start of the season. However,  head coach Buzz Williams took some responsibility for how his team has been playing and challenged his team to get back to the basics.

Veteran guard Tyrece Radford stated during Saturday’s press conference that,

“We tell each other to keep shooting. One thing that carries over is our defense. We continue to play and continue to hoop.”

Things must have started to click because they looked like a team on a mission when A&M hosted the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats at Reed Arena. Taylor and Radford combined for 59 points and the Aggies outrebounded their opponent 54-46 in their 97-92 overtime win. While it’s only one game, A&M looked much closer to what we expected when the season started.

Below, you can check out some of the best highlights from the win on Saturday.

Post Game: Texas A&M knocks off No. 6 Kentucky at home in an exciting 97-92 overtime win

Taylor and Radford power the Aggies past the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats in an intense battle for their first SEC win of the season.

Texas A&M (10-6, 1-2) gives No. 6 Kentucky (12-3, 3-1) their first SEC loss in an overtime thriller at Reed Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The game started with both teams trading the lead back and forth early. Senior guard Tyrece Radford is rounding back into form and provided some much-needed offense that’s been missing over the past few weeks, scoring seven points in the first five minutes.

There seemed to be a sense of urgency coming to this game for A&M looking like a much more focused team and better shot selection. They were able to get multiple early three-point opportunities by attacking the basket and converting and-ones.

Halfway through the first half, Texas A&M held a 29-23 lead before Kentucky started to get their transition game rolling, not allowing the Aggies to extend that lead past six points for most of the remaining half.

A big change compared to the previous games was how well the Aggies shot behind the arc to start the game, finishing the first half at 50% from the field. However, Kentucky is ranked No. 6 for a reason and clawed back to go into halftime down one, 46-45. Wade Taylor IV led all Aggies, scoring 12.

The second half started just like the first, with both teams hitting threes and exchanging the lead back and forth. Kentucky was extremely efficient, taking advantage of their speed and getting down the court extremely fast for open buckets. The Wildcats slowly started to pull away eight minutes in, holding a four-point lead of 65-61 as they rolled to the halfway point of the second half. A stalemate ensued for the next few minutes as neither team could hit a bucket or knock down a free throw.

A&M turned up the defense when needed, and Andersson Garcia scored back-to-back buckets to tie the game 68-68. An intense next few minutes pushed the score out to 74-74 off buckets from Taylor and Kentucky’s Sheppard made three pointer. Taylor started to take over, helping the Aggies grab an 82-78 lead with two and a half minutes left in the game. A wild sequence of threes by both teams came down to a tie game at 87-87, with Kentucky having the ball at the end of the game.

Garcia came up with a steal, which led to free throws for Radford, who knocked down both to put the Aggies up 89-87. Unfortunately, for the Maroon & White, a phantom foul put the Wildcats on the line, where they knocked down their two to tie the game, forcing overtime.

A&M started OT on a 5-0 run to take a 94-89 lead, but more whistles caused a major swing, taking a three-point shot away from Radford due to a “kick out” after his shot. On the other end, Kentucky went 2-3 after a foul by Taylor on a three-point shot.

Once again, with under 40 seconds left on the clock, A&M was able to control the ball and make their foul shots down the stretch to take a 97-92 lead. With a chance to cut the lead, Kentucky came down the court and threw the ball out of bounds with 3 seconds left to end the game, giving the Aggies their first SEC win of the year and a huge one at that.

Below are the Aggie critical contributors from the game:

Wade Taylor IV:  31 points / 5 rebounds

Tyrece Radford:  28 points / 9 rebounds

Andersson Garica:  5 points / 8 rebounds

Texas A&M will be back in action when they travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas on January 16 at 8:00 PM CT.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.