By ADAM ZAGORIA
PHILADELPHIA — For a while after Kenny Payne was hired as the Louisville head coach last spring, the narrative in recruiting circles was that D.J. Wagner, the No. 1 prospect in 2023, would follow him there.
Maybe his Camden High School teammate Aaron Bradshaw, the 7-foot-2 big man now ranked No. 4 in his class by ESPN, would join the Cardinals,too.
Those voices grew louder after Payne named his former teammate Milt Wagner, D.J.’s grandfather, as Director of Player Development and Alumni Relations last May.
In November, Wagner committed to Kentucky, joining Bradshaw and completing John Calipari’s No. 1-ranked class. Yet former Louisville star Pervis Ellison said the Camden duo gave Louisville serious consideration.
“Oh, absolutely,” Ellison, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, said Saturday when Camden edged Imhotep Charter (PA) thanks to Wagner scoring 18 of his game-best 22 in the second half.
“I think it was a tough decision for both those guys. But in the end I think they made the right decisions for what they were looking for individually but there’s no question that coach Payne is going to always be in line to get top recruits,” Ellison added.
It’s worth noting that in October Wagner signed a mega-NIL deal with Nike, which also sponsors Kentucky, while Louisville is an Adidas school.
Louisville, meantime, has had a dreadful season under Payne. They are 2-19, 0-10 in the ACC.
“Coach Payne said it’s going to be a process and it is, but I got all the confidence in the world in coach Payne,” Ellison said.
It seems like the DJ Wagner – @LouisvilleMBB connection is pretty far along pic.twitter.com/YTbFQ7iQtV
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 28, 2022
Ellison was among Louisville legends who spoke with Wagner and Bradshaw when their NJ Scholars team played a Nike EYBL event in Louisvile last May.
“Any chance I get I’ve always lent my services, if that’s speaking to a recruit, whatever it may be,” he said.
“But I can guarantee you one thing,” he added of Payne, “he’s going to turn that around.”
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