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DJ Wagner Recruitment

it all comes down to money for DJ Wagner. everyone has a price. and easy to orchestrate a fake NIL deal. some university will offer him some money and that will be the reason he signs with a school.

Oscar guy from UK is getting $2 million. Bacott from UNC said he got 6 figure offers. you get paid to go to college. can't beat that.

I pay zero attention to the NBA so forgive the ignorant question - how do these 6 figure to $2M NIL deals compare to what a non-lottery NBA pick gets as their first contract?
 
NBA draft analyst Giovanny says DJ needs to play with guys that are of NBA level and that he was good but no so great in Spain.
 
That’s funny it is kind of insulting the NBA by saying coaching doesn’t matter it is raw talent that matters. It is kind of like saying the NBA is street ball.
 
Image
 
It was just announced that Drake and Nike have launched a new line of equipment, shoes, and apparel. Wagner has signed a deal to be the face of this brand. Cannot imagine him signing this deal with Nike and then signing with an Adidas school.
 
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Ty Spalding

@TySpalding

·
1h

A kid who plays for a Nike AAU program is wearing Nike gear. Where are you getting that Nike signed him to an NIL deal? The freak outs are over the top.
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@_EthanMoore
· 1h
Can/will adidas counter? twitter.com/SBJ/status/154…
 
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Ty Spalding
@TySpalding

·
1h

A kid who plays for a Nike AAU program is wearing Nike gear. Where are you getting that Nike signed him to an NIL deal? The freak outs are over the top.
Quote Tweet

@_EthanMoore
· 1h
Can/will adidas counter? twitter.com/SBJ/status/154…
So, you think he is letting them use his image for free? That is the very definition of NIL. Just because a player plays on a Nike sponsored AAU team doesn’t mean they can use his image. He wears their shoe and uniform during games. They are using his image for $$$.
 
Morganstown Card, NBA non lottery pick gets around $1.8-$2 million for first year (from my understanding).

some NIL deals from Texas Tech football, oil company wants to give $25k to each player through "NIL".
for basketball, Wagner would easily get $100k+ if he signed with a Texas school.

Texas schools might dominate college sports from the oil money in a few years.
 
Really DJ? I'm officially done with this kid's recruitment already just move on from him. It's obvious either someone in his camp or himself doesn't want to be a Card .


"TySpalding

“It’s not really an NIL deal. It’s just me promoting it,” Wagner said. “We’re just some hoopers and they wanted to get some stuff out, so we’re some hoopers. They just wanted to get the product out.”
 

With top overall prospect GG Jackson reclassifying from the 2023 to 2022 recruiting class, all eyes now turn to DJ Wagner -- who was quickly elevated to the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2023 in the 247Sports rankings -- and his dramatic Bluegrass State recruiting battle. Will it be Kentucky or Louisville that lands one of basketball's brightest young stars?
The answer to that question may soon be unveiled after a topsy-turvy recruitment process that's seen wild swings in momentum for both programs. And while Wagner has not revealed a timeline for his decision publicly, rumors have for weeks swirled that one could come around Peach Jam -- which just concluded -- or sometime in the lead-up to the 2022-23 season.
Which means his decision could come at any time.
So which school has the edge? Which school should have the edge? There are a number of things at play from on-court fit to off-court fit, familial connections to, well, more familial connections. Let's compare how Wagner fits at both Kentucky and Louisville, his two most likely destinations.

Kentucky​

On-court fit: John Calipari puts the ball in the hands of its guards and lets them run the show. John Wall. Tyrese Maxey. Ashton Hagans. Tyler Ulis. If you can facilitate as a creator and as a scorer -- which Wagner can do -- then UK will free you up. At Rupp Arena, Wagner would likely flourish as a do-it-all guard who does his best damage creating his own offense and stuffing the stat sheet as a scorer.


Off-court fit: Wagner has signed an NIL deal -- already! -- with Drake's Nike sub-label NOCTA, potentially paving the way for him to rock the Kentucky superfan's gear while playing for the Nike school. The Athletic's Kyle Tucker mentioned that some UK basketball folks may soon be rocking some NOCTA gear soon, too, which would in no way be a coincidence. It could also be just a recruiting ploy, but either way, I'm filing this away in the category of "interesting and possibly noteworthy."
Connections: John Calipari coached DJ's father, Dajuan Wagner, at Memphis during the 2001-2002 season. Dajuan Wagner went on to become the No. 6 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Milt Wagner, Wagner's grandfather, served on Calipari's staff at Memphis from 2000 through 2006 in basketball operations. Milt Wagner also went on to serve as an assistant on the staff at UTEP under Tony Barbee from 2006 through 2010 and followed Barbee to Auburn, where they coached from 2010 through 2014. Barbee later went on to serve on staff at Kentucky under Calipari from 2014 to 2021 before taking the head coaching position at Central Michigan.

Louisville​

On-court fit: Louisville doesn't yet have an on-court identity under new coach Kenny Payne. It's impossible to project as we sit here in the dog days of summer as he's never been a head coach, but everything Payne has said about what the system will look like suggests Wagner and his abilities as a do-it-all guard would be properly featured.


"If you can play free-flowing, unpredictable basketball, and have some principles to it, you're going to keep the defense off-balance," Payne said earlier this year. "That's how I want to play. I want to be fast. I want to be athletic. I want to play with freedom. I want to shoot the three, but I don't want to live by the three."
He added that reading and reacting will be key to success within the system and that defense will be a focal point.
Off-court fit: The Wagner family themselves don't have ties to Kentucky -- only to its coach. That is not the case with Louisville. Milt Wagner played at Louisville with its current coach. And Louisville legends have been a mainstay around DJ Wagner on the grassroots circuit thanks to those connections. That, seemingly, would make his fit with the program go seamlessly, especially given his familiarity and comfort level with the school that dates back far longer than Kentucky.


Connections: Shortly after Louisville tabbed Payne as Chris Mack's successor, Payne tapped into the alumni pipeline and hired Milt Wagner as the program's director of player development and alumni relations, almost certainly as a way to try and lure DJ Wagner to Louisville. Payne bringing Milt Wagner aboard isn't their only connection, though; they played together at Louisville in the 1980s and were on the same 1986 NCAA championship team together. In a statement upon his hiring at Louisville, Milt Wagner called Payne his "brother" and said Louisville is his "second home." Dajuan Wagner, DJ' Wagner's father, called Payne in an interview with ESPN his "uncle."

Prediction: Kentucky​

Calipari's roots run deep in the Wagner family, and what he helped do for Dajuan Wagner (getting him to the NBA) and for Milt Wagner (giving him his start in coaching) can't be understated. Even with Milt Wagner's presence at Louisville, the gravitational pull to UK -- which offers a bigger platform and a chance to play for a Hall of Famer -- might be too much for the Cardinals to overcome.
 

With top overall prospect GG Jackson reclassifying from the 2023 to 2022 recruiting class, all eyes now turn to DJ Wagner -- who was quickly elevated to the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2023 in the 247Sports rankings -- and his dramatic Bluegrass State recruiting battle. Will it be Kentucky or Louisville that lands one of basketball's brightest young stars?
The answer to that question may soon be unveiled after a topsy-turvy recruitment process that's seen wild swings in momentum for both programs. And while Wagner has not revealed a timeline for his decision publicly, rumors have for weeks swirled that one could come around Peach Jam -- which just concluded -- or sometime in the lead-up to the 2022-23 season.
Which means his decision could come at any time.
So which school has the edge? Which school should have the edge? There are a number of things at play from on-court fit to off-court fit, familial connections to, well, more familial connections. Let's compare how Wagner fits at both Kentucky and Louisville, his two most likely destinations.

Kentucky​

On-court fit: John Calipari puts the ball in the hands of its guards and lets them run the show. John Wall. Tyrese Maxey. Ashton Hagans. Tyler Ulis. If you can facilitate as a creator and as a scorer -- which Wagner can do -- then UK will free you up. At Rupp Arena, Wagner would likely flourish as a do-it-all guard who does his best damage creating his own offense and stuffing the stat sheet as a scorer.


Off-court fit: Wagner has signed an NIL deal -- already! -- with Drake's Nike sub-label NOCTA, potentially paving the way for him to rock the Kentucky superfan's gear while playing for the Nike school. The Athletic's Kyle Tucker mentioned that some UK basketball folks may soon be rocking some NOCTA gear soon, too, which would in no way be a coincidence. It could also be just a recruiting ploy, but either way, I'm filing this away in the category of "interesting and possibly noteworthy."
Connections: John Calipari coached DJ's father, Dajuan Wagner, at Memphis during the 2001-2002 season. Dajuan Wagner went on to become the No. 6 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Milt Wagner, Wagner's grandfather, served on Calipari's staff at Memphis from 2000 through 2006 in basketball operations. Milt Wagner also went on to serve as an assistant on the staff at UTEP under Tony Barbee from 2006 through 2010 and followed Barbee to Auburn, where they coached from 2010 through 2014. Barbee later went on to serve on staff at Kentucky under Calipari from 2014 to 2021 before taking the head coaching position at Central Michigan.

Louisville​

On-court fit: Louisville doesn't yet have an on-court identity under new coach Kenny Payne. It's impossible to project as we sit here in the dog days of summer as he's never been a head coach, but everything Payne has said about what the system will look like suggests Wagner and his abilities as a do-it-all guard would be properly featured.


"If you can play free-flowing, unpredictable basketball, and have some principles to it, you're going to keep the defense off-balance," Payne said earlier this year. "That's how I want to play. I want to be fast. I want to be athletic. I want to play with freedom. I want to shoot the three, but I don't want to live by the three."
He added that reading and reacting will be key to success within the system and that defense will be a focal point.
Off-court fit: The Wagner family themselves don't have ties to Kentucky -- only to its coach. That is not the case with Louisville. Milt Wagner played at Louisville with its current coach. And Louisville legends have been a mainstay around DJ Wagner on the grassroots circuit thanks to those connections. That, seemingly, would make his fit with the program go seamlessly, especially given his familiarity and comfort level with the school that dates back far longer than Kentucky.


Connections: Shortly after Louisville tabbed Payne as Chris Mack's successor, Payne tapped into the alumni pipeline and hired Milt Wagner as the program's director of player development and alumni relations, almost certainly as a way to try and lure DJ Wagner to Louisville. Payne bringing Milt Wagner aboard isn't their only connection, though; they played together at Louisville in the 1980s and were on the same 1986 NCAA championship team together. In a statement upon his hiring at Louisville, Milt Wagner called Payne his "brother" and said Louisville is his "second home." Dajuan Wagner, DJ' Wagner's father, called Payne in an interview with ESPN his "uncle."

Prediction: Kentucky​

Calipari's roots run deep in the Wagner family, and what he helped do for Dajuan Wagner (getting him to the NBA) and for Milt Wagner (giving him his start in coaching) can't be understated. Even with Milt Wagner's presence at Louisville, the gravitational pull to UK -- which offers a bigger platform and a chance to play for a Hall of Famer -- might be too much for the Cardinals to overcome.
Well thought out post that raises legitimate points. I have more or less tuned out DJ's recruitment, but just stop by to gauge the fanbase's temperature. Personally, I don't think he goes to either school. I think it will be another Nike school. JMO

One final thought. Which of those Calipari guards ever sniffed a NC? LOL
 
Well thought out post that raises legitimate points. I have more or less tuned out DJ's recruitment, but just stop by to gauge the fanbase's temperature. Personally, I don't think he goes to either school. I think it will be another Nike school. JMO

One final thought. Which of those Calipari guards ever sniffed a NC? LOL
ditto^^^
 
I agree, Wagner selecting a 3rd candidate, not UL or UK. No inside information here at all, but I would think Villanova would be a nice fit for Wagner.
 
I agree, Wagner selecting a 3rd candidate, not UL or UK. No inside information here at all, but I would think Villanova would be a nice fit for Wagner.
Were Jay Wright still the coach it would be a great fit. Not having to choose between Dad and Grandpa's choices and staying close to home at a top flight program. But Kyle Neptune is a relatively unknown, other than being a Wright assistant.
 
Wagner made a Nike deal. he won't be wearing Adidas gear with a Nike deal. we should kick Adidas to the curb, imo.

KP is NIke guy. 3 out of 4 NBA players have Nike shoe deals including Donovan Mitchell.
 
Wagner made a Nike deal. he won't be wearing Adidas gear with a Nike deal. we should kick Adidas to the curb, imo.

KP is NIke guy. 3 out of 4 NBA players have Nike shoe deals including Donovan Mitchell.

Not that it matters regarding DJ, but Donovan is not with Nike.
 
hope DJ doesn't like to watch UK college football. Cal destroyed their football recruiting by saying it's only a basketball school.
 
The primary obstacle for UL, once again is the potential NCAA sanctions. No one knows for sure as to the “if and when”, but I am rather sure that DJ would not want to spend his one year in college at a school that was prohibited from post season tournament.

In the unlikely event the NCAA announces their decision very soon that no action is taken that affects UL‘s eligibility for the 2022-23 tournament …….. I like our chances of obtaining DJ’s commitment here. Regrettably, that does not appear likely.
 
The primary obstacle for UL, once again is the potential NCAA sanctions. No one knows for sure as to the “if and when”, but I am rather sure that DJ would not want to spend his one year in college at a school that was prohibited from post season tournament.

In the unlikely event the NCAA announces their decision very soon that no action is taken that affects UL‘s eligibility for the 2022-23 tournament …….. I like our chances of obtaining DJ’s commitment here. Regrettably, that does not appear likely.
I’ve been thinking that DJ is waiting for the results from the IARP before making his choice.
 
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