PHILADELPHIA -- John Calipari has brought some of the greatest recruiting classes ever assembled to Kentucky over the years, but one former No. 1 NBA Draft pick believes next year’s class featuring Camden standouts D.J. Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw might be his best.
The 6-foot-2 Wagner, ranked No. 2 by ESPN and the 7-2 Bradshaw, ranked No. 4, are part of a 5-man class ranked No. 1 by ESPN and 247Sports.com. The class also features Justin Edwards, the 6-7 wing from Imhotep Charter in Philadelphia whose team lost a tough 60-57 game to Camden before more than 4,000 fans on Saturday at St. Joe’s Hagan Arena.
Kentucky’s class features four McDonald’s All-Americans in Wagner, Bradshaw, Edwards and Kentucky native Reed Sheppard. Guard Rob Dillingham, a Top-10 recruit who is the fifth member of the class, is not eligible for the McDonald’s Game because he plays for the semi-professional Overtime Elite league.
“Obviously, that program has had some tremendous talent that’s come through, but I think in terms of collections of players at different positions this might be [Calipari’s] best,” former Louisville star Pervis Ellison, who coached Wagner and Bradshaw with the NJ Scholars AAU team and was the No. 1 pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, told NJ Advance Media at the game. “Yes, that’s how talented those guys are.”
For reference sake, Kentucky has had the No. 1 class eight times and on two previous occasions, that class has featured the No. 1-ranked player: Anthony Davis (2011) and Nerlens Noel (2012). Wagner was ranked No. 1 at the time he committed in November, but has since dropped to No. 2 on ESPN and No. 3 on 247. Edwards is currently No. 1 on ESPN, while USC commit Isaiah Collier is No. 1 on 247.
The Louisville Courier Journal ranked Calipari’s 2011 class featuring Davis, now with the Lakers, and New Jersey native MIchael Kidd-Gilchrist, as Calipari’s top-ranked recruiting class because it won Calipari’s only NCAA championship in 2012. Davis was crowned the National Player of the Year and the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player and was selected as the No. 1 pick in the draft, while Kidd-Gilchrist went No. 2.
This 2023 class would have to win the national championship a year from now to match that feat, but Ellison likes the diversity and versatility of its top players.
Of Edwards, he said, “The kid can defend 1-5. I like the fact that he’s a winner, he brings a winning mindset, plays extremely hard and he’s very unselfish. The sky’s the limit. His better days are ahead of him.”
Asked what Edwards’s natural position is, Ellison responded, “What is Paul George? What is Kawhi Leonard? What is Kevin Durant? He falls into that category.”
Ellison also believes the chemistry Wagner, who scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half on Saturday, and Bradshaw (8 points, 7 rebounds) have developed at Camden -- they refer to themselves as “brothers” -- is going to “really help” when they arrive in Lexington.
“The best part about it is they all have high IQs for the game, but they all play different positions,” he said. “The chemistry is there. Even the other pieces that they’re bringing in, those kids all bring an element to that class in what they’re going to do.”
The 6-3 Sheppard was at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass. this month with his North Laurel (Ky.)team and said he believes he will jell with Wagner and Dillingham.
“They’re both great players and I’ll do whatever it takes to make them better, and then they’ll do whatever it takes to make me better,” Sheppard said. “So I’m looking forward to playing with them, it will be really fun.”
In today’s college game, it is harder and harder for many freshmen to make an immediate impact on winning teams because the game is trending toward older teams, often featuring a number of transfers. Freshmen have to be truly special like Zion Williamson or Chet Holmgren-- to make an impact.
“I agree with [that] statement but it just all depends on the player you’re talking about,” Ellison said. “These kids are exceptionally skilled. I think going into college, you’re not going to find a guard more complete than D.J. so I think that’s the big difference.”
Camden coach and former Villanova standout Maalik Wayns believes the fact that Wagner, Bradshaw and Edwards are committed to defense will help them at Kentucky and beyond. The Camden guys are considered future NBA players.
On one sequence in the first half, Bradshaw dunked on one end, and then ran down court and blocked Edwards in the paint on the other.
“You were at the game, you saw how much defense was being played,” Wayns said. “I don’t know if you’ve see three top-four players in the country take pride in that much defense, so I think that’s going to be the difference in them.
“They’re going to come in and really want to guard and stuff like that. That’s the biggest adjustment for young guys in college, is just being able to guard and being able to compete every night and play that hard every night. These kids already do that. Their calling cards is playing hard and playing defense. I think when you add that with their talent, I think the sky’s the limit for them in their time at Kentucky.”
Wagner, for one, can’t wait to team up with Edwards at Kentucky.
“It was definitely fun to play against him, we all competitors,” he said. “We still got love for him, that’s our brother at the end of the day. It’s definitely going to be fun to play with him in the future and we’re definitely excited for it.”
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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.
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