Wagner Became Sparkplug Driving Hogs’ High-Octane Offense

Saturday’s game was up for grabs and Arkansas’ post-season travel plans were seemingly on hold. That’s when D.J. Wagner responded like the star he’s become.

He scored seven of the Razorbacks’ final 10 points to erase a one-point Mississippi State lead. Those seven came in a span of just 2:03.

Wagner scored a season-high 24 points to go with five assists. His usual brand of tough defense was on display for an impressive 38 minutes.

Arkansas coach John Calipari signed the 5-star recruit to Kentucky.

Wagner never hesitated to follow Calipari to Arkansas when he became the Razorbacks coach. Now his star is shining as brightly as any for the Hogs.

“I’m going to tell you,” Calipari said after Saturday’s win, “every one of my friends who watches our games says, ’He plays so hard, runs so hard, defends so hard, I can’t believe he can stay in the game.’ Like, I got him out for a minute and I said, ‘That’s it, go back.’”

Coach Cal was unhappy with Wagner’s four turnovers but knows the Hogs can’t win without him on the floor.

“I was on him, because he had a couple of bad turnovers,” Calipari said. “Again, he played great, but you’ve got to hold him accountable. Those could have cost us the game, and they were for no reason. You drive and there’s three guys, you’re passing that. You’re not losing that one.”

Bud Walton Arena was in an uproar when Wagner buried a 3-pointer to put the Razorbacks up 16 with 11:42 remaining. But the Hogs frittered away their big advantage.

Mississippi State came all the way back to lead 84-83 with 3:13 left. That’s when Wagner went back to work and largely determined the game’s outcome.

First, a bucket on one of Wagner’s patented drives to the rim, then two free throws courtesy of another powerful trip through the lane, and a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down.

The pressure-packed trey — with just four ticks left on the shot clock — broke a tie with 44 seconds left. Tension flooded the building hit a game-tying 3 but Johnell Davis’ gutsy drive to the hoop led to a pass to Jonas Aido, who was fouled with 1.8 on the shot clock.

Wagner said Calipari told him if the play that was drawn up didn’t work to go get the ball and make a play. Trust in his point guard. Confidence from the point guard. It added up to a winning play.

Aidoo made the first free throw and the Hogs got a block from Billy Richmond III and a second missed shot just before the buzzer to escape with their fourth win in five games and seventh in 11.

Wagner scored 12 points — half of his total for the game — in the final 11:42. More importantly, he stepped up like a veteran although he’s only a sophomore, as did grad transfers Davis and Aidoo.

Wagner has always been a heralded player since his days of dominating New Jersey hoops as the son of former NBA first-round pick Dajuan Wagner and grandson of former NBAer Milt Wagner, who won a national championship with Louisville.

Dajuan Wagner played for Calipari when he coached at Memphis. Both Dajuan and Milt also played in the McDonald’s All-American game. D.J. made it three generations in the illustrious game.

Following his recruitment by all the big schools and commitment to Kentucky and Calipari, Wagner was an absolute star in the McDonald’s All-American game. He scored 19 points — all in a scintillating second-half — while making 3-of-7 treys and earning MVP honors for the East team that won 109-106..

Calipari surely slept like a baby following the pressure-packed win. He might’ve even dreamed about Wagner, who made 7-of-9 shots against Mississippi State, including 3-of-4 treys, and all seven free throws.

Calipari said he lost sleep back in November when he was worried about Wagner. Arkansas had played just three games and the 6-foot-4 guard was hardly filling up the stat sheet.

In fact, Wagner failed to score a single point in that Nov. 13 victory over Troy. The Hogs prevailed 65-49 after trailing 27-26 at halftime.

To refresh memories, it’s the game Big Z — 7-foot-2 Zvonimir Ivisic — enjoyed a breakout performance. The Croatian, another Kentucky transfer, had three points at intermission but finished with 19 while making 6-of-7 treys.

Still, when Calipari got home that night and perused the box score, it wasn’t Z’s sensational shooting or Adou Thiero’s 19 points that stood out, it was Wagner’s goose egg.

“I didn’t sleep that night,” Calipari said. “How can DJ Wagner not score a point?”

Wagner was no ordinary recruit for Calipari two years ago when he signed with Kentucky. He was ranked as high as the fourth-best high schooler in the country by ESPN and 247Sports. The kid could score almost at will.

“I call him in and I talked to him,” Calipari recalled, “and I said, ‘You know, I didn’t know you didn’t score a point until I went home.’ You know what he said to me? ‘Don’t worry about me, coach. I’m fine.’

“How about if you had a team full of those? We don’t. We don’t. But how about if we did? Now all of a sudden, you’re so consumed with our team and winning and you worry more about the other four guys than yourself. Well, how about if they do the same? Now you have an empowered team.”

That attitude has permeated the Arkansas team. It’s obviously a tight-knit group with several players coming to the forefront in different games to produce victories.

In that scoreless game, Wagner played 37 minutes and did contribute five assists, four steals, two rebounds, a block and only one turnover.

When a team’s best players are unselfish, it can’t help but spread to everyone else. There will be times Wagner must look for his shot, but he always does it within the parameters of the offense and flow of the game.

“We have a lot of great players,” Wagner said Saturday. “Any given night, it can be somebody different. A game like this, with so many players in double-digit scoring, it shows how good of a team we’ve got, how much we trust each other.”

After Wagner’s 24, Aidoo had 21, Davis 15, Trevon Brazile 11 — all in the second half — and Billy Richmond III 10.

A month after Calipari couldn’t sleep, Wagner was playing well, looking for his shot and still moving the ball and looking for teammates.

Assistant coach Chuck Martin had noticed and wanted fans to realize how hard Wagner works to improve. He was superb 10 days earlier in a thrilling 89-87 win over No. 14 Michigan.

“DJ has spent an enormous amount of time in the gym working, every single day,” Martin said on Dec. 20. “I think the last few games, the fans have been able to see all of the work he’s put into it.”

Wagner began making more of an impact when freshman point guard Boogie Fland was lost for the season due to thumb surgery.

Back in his comfort zone with the ball in his hands to orchestrate the offense, Wagner became more aggressive, especially when the high pick-and-roll offers opportunity for drives down the lane.

It’s renewed Wagner’s reputation as a valuable NBA prospect, as did his stat line from Saturday’s win.

“We were attacking the lane and see what we got off that,” Wagner said. “We watched tape and they try to collapse so you can attack and maybe pass.”

Wagner helped kick-start the Hogs’ resurgence by scoring 17 with eight assists in what might be the upset of the season, an 89-79 win at Kentucky.

In the huge road win Tuesday at Vanderbilt, Wagner scored 14 in the second half. His surge contined against Mississippi State.

If the Hogs are to make any noise in the SEC Tournament — and, more importantly, in the NCAA Tournament — they’ll need Wagner to lead the way.