Calipari implores returning guard to shoot the ball for Razorbacks

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Daniel Shi | Last updated Oct 14, 2025 7:29 PM ET

Arkansas guard DJ Wagner is entering his third season of college basketball, all under coach John Calipari.

Once the top combo guard in his class according to On3, Wagner was a prime candidate to join a long-list of one-and-done players to play under Calipari.

Wagner did not follow the likes of John Wall, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as guards who played one season under Calipari before finding success in the NBA.

Instead, Wagner followed Calipari to Arkansas and averaged 11.2 points in 36 games, similar to his freshman season where he averaged 9.9 points.

Calipari believes that the pressure of being a former-five-star player and a top-10 recruit has finally worn off.

"He's more comfortable with himself." Calipari said. "A lot of these kids get ranked, then they're trying to live up to rankings. What does the ranking mean?

“You got to go in and compete and take what you want, but it could be a burden. He needed to shed that and just be the player he is."

Calipari said that Wagner being comfortable with the fact that he's on his "own path" is something that took time and should allow him to be more aggressive in his third year.

Wagner attempted 10.2 field goals a game last season, second highest on the team, but Calipari wants that number to go even higher with point guard Boogie Fland now at Florida.

"We became better as a team [when he became to point guard]," Calipari said. We just did. Everybody knew it. Now I want him to be more aggressive offensively.

“I want him to shoot balls that he has. They go under th ball screen, shoot it. They go under a dribble handoff, shoot the ball. You come down in transition, they back away, shoot the ball."

According to Calipari, Wagner will need to build up bis confidence with extra reps in the gym

"He can do it," Calipari said. "He is as good a kid as I've ever coached, works as hard as anybody I've ever coached. The breakthrough is all within himself. It's there.

“Now it's time to go show it all. I'm just happy he's still with me and I'm coaching him. Love being around him every day."

Even with Calipari's reputation as the ultimate one-and-done coach, those are still the exceptions to the rule, not the other way around.

"Every kid is on their own path," Calipari said. "We tell every kid that I recruit: You plan on staying two or three years. If after a year you're good enough to leave, I got no problem with that. I'm not going to have you stay. I'm not going to force you out if I think someone is better than you. This is your path, not my path."

Wagner and the rest of the team are now just 10 days away from facing a different team for the first time.

The Hogs will face Cincinnati in a charity exhibition 7 p.m. Oct. 24. The game will be streamed on SECN+.