DJ Wagner got a final chance to play near home. He took advantage at the Iverson Classic.

Cameron Drummond
·3 min read

Future Kentucky men’s basketball players have taken center stage this spring by posting impressive performances across the country in all-star showcase events featuring top prep players.

That trend continued Saturday night in what represented a final chance for several incoming Wildcats to play close to home prior to leaving for Lexington. The incoming UK trio of Robert Dillingham, Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner all took part in the Iverson Classic all-star game.

The game took place at Kean University in New Jersey, which came with added meaning for Wagner, who played high school basketball in New Jersey at Camden High School. His senior high school season at Camden was cut short in February following a benches-clearing in-game incident.

Aaron Bradshaw, UK’s highly touted incoming big man who also went to Camden, was invited to the Iverson Classic but couldn’t attend. For his part, Edwards played at Imhotep Institute in Philadelphia, which is only a little more than an hour away from Kean.

Edwards and Wagner both rose to the occasion in front of their respective hometown crowds: They were named co-MVPs.

Dillingham and Wagner were on Team Loyalty for Saturday’s game, while Edwards played on Team Honor.

Given this, the game represented an advance look at what next season’s projected Kentucky backcourt will look like featuring both Dillingham and Wagner. Team Loyalty won 131-124.

Even prior to his exploits Saturday night, Wagner was leaving this week’s event with some hardware.

He won the Iverson Classic’s three-point shooting contest on Thursday, which was held at Camden. Wagner made 16 of 25 shots to win that title, and joins Ex-Cat TyTy Washington (2021) as a winner of the event.

Wagner was also named the National High School Player of the Year by the Iverson Classic. This is the same honor that was given to Cason Wallace last year.

Wagner adds to trophy collection after McDonald’s All-American Game

This isn’t the first time this spring that future Kentucky Wildcats have impressed against other top college basketball prospects.

The McDonald’s All-American Game in late March in Houston also featured standout performances from several incoming Wildcats, with Wagner headlining that list.

In that showcase event, Wagner scored all 19 of his points in the second half on the way to also being named a co-MVP of that game.

In the lead up to that contest, Wagner spoke about what he and the rest of the UK freshman class are anticipating ahead of their arrivals at Kentucky.

“I feel like we’re all confident in each other and the way to prepare for that is to stay in the gym and keep working hard every day,” Wagner said. “We all feel like we can rely on each other in games. We’re all excited.”

In April, Edwards and Wagner were two of the driving forces behind a Team USA victory at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland.

Incoming Kentucky freshman DJ Wagner was named the National High School Player of the Year by the Iverson Classic last week. He was then named a co-MVP of the Iverson Classic game Saturday night, along with fellow incoming UK player Justin Edwards.
Incoming Kentucky freshman DJ Wagner was named the National High School Player of the Year by the Iverson Classic last week. He was then named a co-MVP of the Iverson Classic game Saturday night, along with fellow incoming UK player Justin Edwards.

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