It’s a Kentucky Homecoming for DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Big Z too
John Calipari‘s return to Rupp Arena has been circled on calendars across Big Blue Nation for months. “Would you boo or cheer for him?” rhetoric has dominated the discourse for Kentucky basketball fans. Calipari has always been the biggest personality in the room, but he’s not the only former Wildcat making a homecoming this weekend.
DJ Wagner, Adou Thiero, and Zvonimir Ivisic will be in the visiting locker room a year after they played in Kentucky Blue at Rupp Arena.
“When everybody was just concerned about me walking into Rupp, what about those three too? My focus was more on those three walking in than me,” Calipari said Thursday.
Thiero, whose father played for Calipari at Memphis, spent two seasons in Lexington, while Big Z and Wagner were Wildcats for only one year. Wagner started in 28 games at point guard for Kentucky, while Adou made the first five in 19 contests last season. Big Z wasn’t eligible to play until January, but all three played in high-profile games at Rupp, even though they won’t be as juiced as the hornet’s nest they’re walking into Saturday night.
That is why Calipari is spending some extra time with the three former Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday. In order to be at their best in an SEC game the Razorbacks desperately need to win, Arkansas can’t afford to have its top players distracted.
“You just got to explain and talk to them about what the beginning will be like. There’ll be some anxiety. There’s going to be,” said Calipari.
“This is kind of like taking players back home. They were absolutely engaged with everything there, and now they’re going back to that situation. I just got to talk to ’em about being calm in the storm. Got to talk to ’em about the anxiety early. It’s going to be there.”
Those homecoming games, like Malik Monk‘s games against Arkansas, are usually feast or famine depending on the individual. Arkansas needs Adou to be one that feasts. A physical mismatch problem for the Cats, he’s the Razorbacks’ leading scorer, averaging 161. points per game. Wagner is carrying a heavier load in the backcourt following Boogie Fland‘s season-ending injury. Big Z is Arkansas’ best three-point shooter and the third-best shoot-blocker in the SEC.
The former Kentucky trio won some big games at Rupp Arena. Hopefully, that time has come to an end.
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