DJ Wagner gives back to Camden, and details his trust in following John Calipari to Arkansas

DJ Wagner pointed his right thumb over his shoulder toward a black backpack, and his opposite hand toward a blue one.

“What you want, man?” Wagner asked a young boy as he approached the table set up on the football field at Whitman Park in Camden.

That child was part of the hundreds of families still filing into Wagner’s third annual community drive more than 90 minutes after the event began Saturday afternoon. They received the Nike book bags and other school supplies — “no questions asked,” his mother, Syreeta Brittingham, said during a welcome address — thanks to Wagner’s NIL deal and donation help from Subaru.

It was a way for Wagner to give back to his hometown, where he morphed into a top-10 national high school basketball recruit before an inconsistent freshman season at Kentucky in 2023-24. A few months ago, he decided to stay in college rather than enter the NBA draft. And Sunday, he headed to Arkansas, where he followed former Kentucky coach John Calipari to continue his college career.

“It’s all about trusting the process,” Wagner told The Inquirer at the event. “Just being grateful for whatever situation I’m in. I’m just happy to be in college, and I still feel blessed to be in the position I’m in.”

Last year, Wagner joined a long list of heralded guards to become Kentucky Wildcats. But during his first college season, he shot 29.2% from three-point range and struggled to change pace and make sharp decisions with the ball in his hands. Fellow guards Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham eventually surpassed Wagner in production and efficiency, then became top-10 NBA draft picks. Justin Edwards, another former Philly-area high school star (Imhotep Charter) who went to Kentucky, signed a two-way contract with the 76ers after going undrafted this summer.

Wagner said Saturday that he is “happy for all my guys … because, in my eyes, they all deserved it.” He instead entered the transfer portal, maintaining his trust in Calipari by joining him at Arkansas. That relationship runs deep because Wagner’s father, Dajuan, played for the coach at Memphis. DJ’s half brother, Kareem Watkins, along with fellow Kentucky teammates Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic and multiple staffers, also followed Calipari to Fayetteville.

“Putting my faith in him,” Wagner said of Calipari, “knowing that, going with him, I’ve got a chance. The team has a chance to be great. … In my eyes, I’m still there [at Kentucky], just in a different place.”

» READ MORE: Justin Edwards remains undaunted after going undrafted: ‘I was the best player in the draft’

When asked about his offseason workouts, Wagner acknowledged he has “a lot of stuff I can improve on” to demonstrate he will be ready to jump to the NBA in 2025. Way-too-early mock drafts vary drastically, with some projecting Wagner as a lottery pick and others completely out of the first round. But for Wagner, “the main thing I worry about is winning,” after Kentucky got upset by 14th-seeded Oakland in the 2024 NCAA Tournament’s first round.

First, though, was Wagner’s return home. He maintained an easygoing demeanor even as enthusiastic chaos surrounded him, when weaving through the park came with endless pit stops to sign autographs and take photos. He posed for one shot with Camden mayor and former Temple star Vic Carstarphen, and another with his mother, whom Wagner credited with organizing the event.

And as a 360 camera spun around Wagner and Brittingham, he held up one sign that read #Camden and another that read #HoodLove.

“I just wanted to find a way to be able to show them that same love,” Wagner said, “and show them that same support in return.

“It’ll motivate me even more to go harder, just so I can keep doing stuff like this.”