Arkansas head coach John Calipari has had what feels like a never-ending list of lineups because of injuries since the season started, but it appears the Razorbacks (14-8, 3-6 SEC) are settling in with D.J. Wagner running the point guard position.
The latest iteration of the rotation doesn’t include former five-star point guard Boogie Fland, who underwent thumb surgery in January, but it does have Wagner, who has played the lead role in Fland’s absence.
Arkansas associate head coach Chin Coleman said Friday that because of Wagner’s experience at point guard from last season at Kentucky, the coaching staff is comfortable with his ability to lead moving forward.
“We’ve figured out how to play with this group as D.J. as the primary ball-handler, which we’ve done before,” Coleman said. “Our team last year, where we were at, D.J. was our primary ball-handler. He was our leader. He ran our team.
“The two guys that are in the NBA right now, they could not do it the way he did it, so we utilized those two guys in a different way which D.J. had to sacrifice in order to run our basketball team, to allow for those two guys that are in the NBA, Reed (Sheppard) and Rob (Dillingham), to do what it is that they do.”
Wagner hasn’t had to sacrifice his opportunities to score since he took over the point, as he’s notched at least 13 points in the last three games, but he’s been able to get his teammates involved more.
On the season, Wagner has averaged 3.1 assists per game, but since Fland’s absence, that number has jumped to five per game, which includes an eight-assist outing against Kentucky last weekend.
Replacing Fland’s assist numbers isn't exactly realistic, as his 5.7 assists per game is still ranked second in the SEC, but Wagner has played the position at a high level before and Coleman said he believes (Wagner is) capable of doing it again.
“It’s a different team without Boogie on the floor, it’s a totally different team,” Coleman said. “The dynamics of what he does, not having that, we have to figure out other ways to get that from other places in order to be successful to win…and so now that D.J. is again running our team, we feel very comfortable with him doing that because we know that he’s done it before at a high level.”
The Razorbacks will need Wagner at his best Saturday, when the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide come to Bud Walton Arena. That game is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT and it will air on ESPN.
