LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Former University of Louisville basketball star Milt Wagner has long wanted to be part of the Cardinals’ coaching staff, and on Tuesday Wagner has achieved that goal.

New U of L head coach Kenny Payne announced that Wagner will join his staff as director of player development an alumni relations. It is non-coaching position.

"I’m so excited for this opportunity to have my brother Milt 'Ice' Wagner with me every day to help me build the championship culture I’m trying to establish,” Payne said in a statement released by the university.

Payne and Wagner are scheduled to answer questions from the media at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

“He is truly one of the most beloved Cardinals of all time both by the fans and by his teammates and our former players," Payne said. "Milt is another great hire that comes with an NCAA championship and an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers.  I’m sure our Card fans will welcome home your own Ice Man in Milt.”

“It’s an honor for me to return to my alma mater and work alongside my brother Kenny Payne,” Wagner in the same university statement. “Louisville is my second home and I’ve always wanted to return here to work with this historic program that I contributed my blood, sweat and tears for as a student-athlete.  I’m thrilled to be here with a terrific staff and help this program achieve at the highest level.”

Wagner's grandson, D.J., is ranked the top player in the 2023 prep class. Louisville and Kentucky are at the top of a list of dozens of schools recruiting Wagner, a point guard at Camden (N.J.) High School.

Wagner, of course, played for Louisville from 1981-86. He was a starting guard on the Cards’ 1986 NCAA championship team and also played on the 1982 and 1983 Final Four squads. He coached with John Calipari at Memphis — while his son, Dajuan, played for Calipari — and later served as an assistant coach at UTEP and Auburn.

Wagner has worked in private business in Louisville for the last six years. U of L announced that former Card Reece Gaines will move into a position with the team's video operations. Gaines had been director of player development.

D.J. Wagner and his teammates on the New Jersey Scholars AAU program will be in Louisville this weekend to compete in a NIKE EYBL tournament at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

In the Rivals college basketball recruiting database, which goes back to 2003, Louisville has only once secured a top-10 recruit. Samardo Samuels, the No. 9 player in the 2008 class, played two seasons for Rick Pitino's Cardinals before going undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft and spending most of his professional career overseas.

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