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Future Wildcat, DJ Wagner, Goes for Back-to-Back 40 Point Performances, Joins 2,000 Point Club

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© CHRIS LACHALL/USA TODAY NETWORK ATLANTIC GROUP / USA TODAY NETWORK

In a 90-52 blowout win over Bishop Eustace, DJ Wagner reached an elite milestone of 2,000 career points. The 2023 five-star Kentucky signee went for 40 points in the win, putting him at 2,005 points and counting.

Wagner is now the latest of 105 players in the history of New Jersey high school basketball to surpass 2,000 career points. At the top of that list is DJ’s father, Dajuan Wagner Sr. with 3,462 career points in his time at Camden High. His historic career led to Camden naming their basketball court, “Dajuan Wagner Court.”

It was a sweet moment for the Wagner family as DJ joined the club on that same court Thursday night. With 19 seconds left in the third quarter, DJ hit a floater in the paint to secure No. 2,000.

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DJ quickly added five more points in the fourth quarter to pass his grandfather, Milt Wagner (2,003), on the list and bring his running total to 2,005 points. This puts DJ sixth on Camden’s all-time scoring list.

Wagner continues to move up the list as he followed this performance with 40-point and 26-point games. Over his last three games, Wagner is averaging 35.3 points and looks to be playing the best basketball of his high school career.

Support From His Coaches and Teammates

Wagner’s coaches and teammates voiced their joy in his accomplishment and talked about the quality teammate he has been.

“Get yourself some glory once in a while,” head coach Maalik Wayns said, via Josh Friedman of Courier Post. “He always makes it about other guys, his teammates and his brothers. We wanted him to really enjoy the moment and really enjoy something special in Camden history, in basketball history.”

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“He just a great, great teammate,” fellow senior Cian Medley said. “Before anything, before being a basketball player, he is a great person, great teammate. It’s a blessing being able to play with him because he cares about everybody else. … That’s my favorite trait about him.”

Wagner credited his teammates for his milestone achievement.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my teammates. I tip my hat to them,” Wagner said. “I’m just very appreciative of them – my teammates and my coaches. They really encouraged me to be aggressive, go get it.”

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Earns Commitment From European Big Andrija Jelavic

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Earlier today, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats received the commitment from Andrija Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 big from Croatia.

As first reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Jelavic is one of the most highly regarded European prospects that is taking his talent to the NCAA.

Soon to be 21 years old, Jelavic averaged 10.8 points per game on 60% shooting from the field to go along with 7.4 rebounds per game for Mega Superbet, the same club that NBA Champion and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic played for.

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As a shock to most, who were expecting Pope’s next commit to be a guard of some sorts, international players can now sign lucrative NIL deals. Kentucky, along with several of the elite colleges, are now in the European market. 

Jelavic, with shades of current European big men, can do just about everything on the court. He can shoot, dribble, pass, finish at the rim, etc. With a very relevant comparison, Jelavic plays almost perfectly in the replacement role of Andrew Carr. 

His commitment now makes him the fifth member of Pope’s additions this offseason, joining Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, Mouhamed Dioubate and Jayden Quaintance. 

With a 7’2” wingspan, joining an already impressive Kentucky frontcourt, it’s safe to say for certain that this new team will not lack in that department. 

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Next year’s roster was loaded with talent already, but now with the addition of Jelavic, lots of questions are arising: Who will start? How many more players is Pope going to add? What will happen with the walk-ons? 

There’s plenty to think about for Pope and his staff before the season starts, but like he said back when he introduced himself to Big Blue Nation, “We’re here to win banners.” He’s going to make the moves he thinks will do just that for the Wildcats. 

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Four-Star Guard Acaden Lewis Suddenly Decommits from Kentucky

Amidst a recent wave of positive recruiting news for Kentucky, the surprising decommitment of Acaden Lewis is an unfortunate wrench.

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2025 four-star point guard prospect Acaden Lewis has decommited from Kentucky.
UK Athletics

In a shocking, late at night turn of events, four-star freshman Acaden Lewis has decommitted from Kentucky.

Lewis, a 6’3” point guard out of Washington, D.C. first committed to the blue and white in November of last year, following an in-person visit with Mark Pope in his hometown.

Since then, he’s made multiple appearances in Rupp Arena, been featured in photo shoots with his fellow incoming recruits, and spoken on multiple occasions about his excitement to join the team for the 2025-26’ season.

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To say this development is surprising would be a serious understatement.

Lewis released a statement following the announcement, “This was an incredibly difficult decision, but I have to do what’s best for my future,” he said. “Thank you to Coach Pope and the whole Kentucky staff for all they’ve done for me so far.”

While the loss of Lewis is certainly disappointing, there is still much to look forward to next season for Kentucky, who maintain one of the highest rated transfer classes in the nation – and it likely isn’t finished.

To that point, if any reason can be derived immediately for Lewis’ decommitment, it may be found in the same place that Mark Pope and staff will be going to look for answers: the transfer portal.

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Top 10 Transfer Prospect, Former Wildcat Recruit Jayden Quaintance Commits to Kentucky

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2024 five-star big man Jayden Quaintance has commmitted to play basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats
UK Athletics

Two days into the week and two booms for the Kentucky Wildcats as Jayden Quaintance announced his commitment to Kentucky on Tuesday morning.

If the Quaintance name sounds familiar, it should. He was originally committed to play for the Cats out of high school last season as a five-star recruit. While he was interested in staying at Kentucky following John Calipari’s departure, even meeting with Mark Pope, he elected to play for Arizona State.

In his one season with the Sun Devils, Quaintance averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 2.6 BPG, and earned Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive honors.

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The one concern for Quaintance is that he had surgery to repair a torn ACL, which could keep him out for the entire offseason and potentially into the season. That said, the expectation for a return is September, and at just 17 years old, there is so much untapped potential.

Get to know the newest Wildcat commit!

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