Wagner playing ‘confident’ as Razorbacks enter postseason
Sophomore Arkansas guard D.J. Wagner had big shoes to fill when freshman point guard Boogie Fland went down with a thumb injury in January, but now he’s playing some of the best ball of his career as the Razorbacks (19-12, 8-10 SEC) enter the postseason.
The first-year Hog guard has scored in double figures in five of his last six games, and exploded for a season-high 24 points in the Hogs’ regular-season finale against Mississippi State on Saturday.
Arkansas associate head coach Kenny Payne met with the media Monday and said a big part of Wagner’s elevated play is because he isn’t overthinking the game.
“What I personally see in D.J. is that he’s playing confident,” Payne said. “He’s not second-guessing what he’s doing. I called him the other night and said, ‘D.J., tell me what it felt like. What did you feel on the floor?…And he said, ‘you know, Uncle Kenny, I just felt like I was reacting to whatever the defense gave me, and I wasn’t overthinking’. That’s the key for him. That he doesn’t think and react and try to process. That he just plays instinctive basketball with confidence.”
Wagner’s assist numbers have also seen a jump in his last six games, as he’s averaged 3.5 in that span. It’s a lower number than what Fland produced before his injury, but it’s worth noting the level of competition has been higher for Wagner.
While he’s not known as a sniper from deep, Wagner’s three-point threat has grown, which adds another threat for opposing defenses to account for. He had three three-pointers against Mississippi State and two against Vanderbilt in the game prior, one of which came from well past the line with the shot-clock winding down.
If that three wasn’t enough to show Wagner’s improved deep shot, he hit another clutch one against Mississippi State. After the Hogs had squandered a 16-point lead late in the game, he drained a triple from the top of the key on a baseline out-of-bounds play that put Arkansas up, 92-89.
Mississippi State responded the next time down the floor with a three from Josh Hubbard, but Arkansas did just enough to escape with the win.
“It really was just like instincts, knowing that my teammates trusted me,” Wagner said after the win. “They had confidence in me, so that made me more confident just knowing that everyone had confidence in me to shoot a shot like that. So, that’s really what Coach said. Like, if the play don’t work, go get it and go try to make a play.”
On the season, Wagner has accumulated a 32.4% three-point percentage, but that number has jumped to 39.1% (9-of-23) in his last five games.
Arkansas will need Wagner to be at his best from this point on if it hopes to make a postseason run and make some March magic.
The Razorbacks will take on South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for noon CT and it will air on the SEC Network.
