Justin Edwards, D.J. Wagner out for UK basketball in Florida loss

A landmark moment in this 2023-24 Kentucky basketball season has to wait a little while longer.

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Despite the return of freshman guard Rob Dillingham, who missed UK’s Saturday night road win at Arkansas with an illness, head coach John Calipari’s team still wasn’t at full strength for Wednesday night’s home overtime loss to Florida.

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A pair of Kentucky freshman starters — Justin Edwards and D.J. Wagner — were both unable to play against the Gators.

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Wagner was sidelined with an ankle injury. He also previously missed Kentucky’s shocking home loss to UNC Wilmington in December, also with an ankle injury.

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Edwards was out with a leg injury. The 6-foot-8 freshman suffered the injury in practice last week and wasn’t able to start in the win at Arkansas because of that injury.

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Afterward, Calipari said he wasn’t sure if the Wildcats would be at full strength for Saturday night’s titanic home matchup against No. 5 Tennessee.

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“I don’t know about if we will have a full roster,” Calipari said. “But, you know, we have got no choice… We just have to get healthy and have a full roster.”

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Freshman Reed Sheppard started for Wagner and sophomore Adou Thiero started for Edwards.

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That wasn’t the only tweak that Calipari made to the UK starting five, either. Sophomore Ugonna Onyenso started in place of freshman Aaron Bradshaw.

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Sheppard totaled 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the loss, and had a crucial defensive mistake when he allowed Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. to get open and connect on a 3-pointer to tie the game with five seconds left in regulation.

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Thiero finished with seven points, two rebounds and one assist in his second game back following a back injury that sidelined him for seven straight contests.

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But it was Onyenso who had the biggest breakout game of the trio: In his first career college start, the second-year big man had 13 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks in a losing effort. It was the most blocked shots by a UK player since Isaiah Jackson in December 2020.

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This means that now 20 games into the season, UK is still yet to play a game with a complete roster of available players.

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Entering Wednesday’s game, only four Wildcats (fifth-years Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell, and freshmen Justin Edwards and Reed Sheppard) had played in all 19 games this season. That number now sits at three with the elimination of Edwards.

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How will UK continue to navigate having so many players fluctuate in and out of the rotation?

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“I think it’s exciting that we have depth,” UK assistant coach Chuck Martin told reporters Tuesday morning. “I think other teams around the country, they don’t have the depth that we have.”

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Like Calipari and fellow assistant coach Chin Coleman have previously discussed, Martin pointed to the fact Kentucky has utilized three distinct teams so far this season: A lineup with Tre Mitchell at the 5, with Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso as the bigs and now with Ivisic in the rotation.

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Martin also stressed the challenges that Calipari has faced when dealing with a changing group of available players.

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“When we get that full roster, it allows us to have different rotations, it maybe allows us to be more aggressive defensively. Knowing that if we have a guy get in foul trouble, we have the depth to sub a guy in,” Martin said.

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This story was originally published. January 31, 2024, 7:32 p.m.

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader, focusing on Kentucky men’s basketball and UK men’s basketball recruiting, horse racing, football and other sports in central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He speaks fluent Spanish and previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas.