Syracuse Basketball: 5-star PG with ‘Cuse offer to announce any day now

D.J. Wagner from New Jersey, a 2023 five-star point guard who holds a Syracuse basketball scholarship offer, is expected to announce his commitment decision in the near future, according to media reports.

Travis Branham, a 247Sports national analyst, said in a piece that the 6-foot-3 Wagner could make an announcement as soon as this coming Monday, Nov. 14.

While Orange coaches reportedly had pursued Wagner for some period of time, in recent months, the analyst buzz is that his recruitment would end up boiling down to a battle between in-state rivals Kentucky and Louisville.

When I wrote this column on Friday evening, the vast majority of predictions from national analysts on the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com and the On3 Web site heavily favored Kentucky in Wagner’s recruitment.

You never know how this recruiting stuff will play out until a top-flight prospect makes his college (or pro) decision known, but I’d be shocked if Wagner ended up anywhere besides John Calipari’s Wildcats.

Syracuse basketball always appeared to be a long shot for five-star point guard D.J. Wagner.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff offered a scholarship to Wagner in August of 2021, when he participated in the team’s annual Elite Camp. His offer sheet also includes Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis, Villanova and Temple.

While Wagner’s recruiting process has seemingly centered on Kentucky and Louisville for a sizable duration of time, in the spring, reports did come out saying that other suitors still pursuing Wagner included Syracuse basketball, Villanova, Memphis, Auburn, Arkansas and Michigan.

Wagner, an All-American during the 2021-22 stanza, is now a senior at Camden High School in Camden, N.J., which is one of the top high-school groups across the country. In grassroots basketball, he has been a member of the New Jersey Scholars Elite Basketball Club in Nike’s EYBL league.

Nationally in the 2023 cycle, Wagner is a consensus top-six player. He is the No. 1 point guard or the No. 1 combo guard in this class, and some recruiting services have him as the top-ranked prospect in the senior cycle.

MaxPreps national basketball editor Jordan Divens recently named Wagner a preseason first-team All-American as the 2022-23 campaign gets underway.

The ‘Cuse remains in search of its first commitment in 2023, and I can’t imagine that Wagner is headed to Syracuse basketball, although I do credit Orange coaches for trying to land this elite player.

We’ll obviously track any commitment announcement by Wagner in the near future. Should he end up with Kentucky, he would join a loaded 2023 class for Calipari & Co. that also features former Syracuse basketball recruiting targets Justin Edwards, a five-star wing, and Aaron Bradshaw, a five-star center who is teammates with Wagner at Camden.