It’s a homecoming for several Wildcats as Kentucky prepares for Penn, but DJ Wagner’s status still uncertain

A homecoming is in store this weekend, as four Kentucky Wildcats (6-2) basketball players from the area prepare for a non-conference matchup against Penn (6-4) on Saturday (noon, ESPN2).

Justin Edwards (Imhotep), DJ Wagner (Camden), Wagner’s brother Kareem Watkins (Camden), and Aaron Bradshaw (Camden) all have a chance to play in front of family and friends at the Wells Fargo Center.

“We’ve been there a couple of times, so to be able to play [at the Wells Fargo Center], it’s a surreal feeling,” Wagner said on Friday. “A lot of kids dream about it, playing in an NBA arena in general, so it’s a good feeling to be able to play there. We’re all excited.”

After using the Sixers practice facilities — but before the storm of Saturday’s game — the No. 16 Wildcats took time to stop by local food bank Philabundance and tour its South Philly facility. The team made a $5,000 donation and took part in a volunteer session where players packaged canned goods, sorted food into bins, and organized non-perishables.

It also gave them an opportunity to meet Campbell’s chief executive officer Mark Clouse, with Campbell’s as the main sponsor for Saturday’s ‘Malone Classic.’

» READ MORE: Freshmen Tyler Perkins and Sam Brown help fuel Penn’s strong start heading into Kentucky game

While Wagner, Watkins, and Bradshaw hail from New Jersey, Edwards is the lone Philly native playing for the Wildcats. The former Imhotep standout, who finished as one of the top ranked high school basketball players in the nation, is averaging 10.3 points and 4.4 assists in eight starts this season. Adjusting to the speed and physicality of college basketball, Edwards told The Inquirer, has been the biggest challenge for him.

“I say college is more than one action, so you can’t really take a break,” Edwards explained. “In high school you can take a break here and there not be in trouble. But in college, you got to be locked in the whole possession, the whole 40 minutes.”

The freshmen trio of Wagner, Edwards, and Bradshaw have yet to play together this season. For the first seven games — until Wagner went down with an injury in a win over Miami on Nov. 28. — it was just Edwards and Wagner on the court together, just like when they were younger playing AAU basketball. Last weekend, in Kentucky’s loss to UNC-Wilmington, it was Bradshaw, making his season debut, and Edwards playing together.

Despite the changes in and out of the lineup for the Wildcats, Edwards says it’s “surreal” to play alongside the Camden star duo.

“I played with DJ [Wagner] growing up and I always played against Aaron [Bradshaw], not a lot but I was always seeing them at tournaments,” Edwards recalled. “Just seeing how how we went from AAU to growing up to be college teammates, it’s crazy.”

Edwards says he expects to have a large contingent of his friends, family, and former high school teammates in the Wells Fargo Center crowd.

» READ MORE: Before Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner became the nation’s top recruits, they were 8th-grade teammates

While the trio is looking forward to playing in front of family and friends this weekend, Wagner’s status for Saturday’s game is still up in the air. The former Camden star, who is averaging 13.1 points and 3.3 assists for the Wildcats this season, told reporters on Friday he wasn’t sure if he was suiting up against Penn.

“My teammates and coaches, they have been helping and supporting me a lot,” Wagner said of his injury recovery. “The past couple days, I’ve been getting a lot of treatment and staying in the training room as much as possible.”

» READ MORE: Kentucky’s DJ Wagner is sidelined by an ankle injury

Wagner suffered a “lower extremity injury” according to coach John Calipari. He missed the Wildcats’ loss last week, while Bradshaw scored three points in 12 minutes after a foot injury kept him out of Kentucky’s first seven games.