Player Of The Century

TUESDAY, JAN. 16, was a quiet day in Camden, N.J., a neglected city of 80,000 souls immediately over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge from Philadelphia. On that day Camden police recorded only two domestic disputes, two auto thefts, one aggravated assault with a bottle, another with a shotgun and one drug arrest for possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school. The day's only real news came out of the creaking gym at Camden High: Dajuan Wagner, a senior guard considered by many to be the best schoolboy basketball player in the country, scored 100 points in a game. He could have scored more, but he spent the final four minutes standing beside the team's scrubs and student fans, kids who might never leave Camden.

"A hundred is a magic number," says the 6'3" man-child, who will turn 18 on Feb. 4. "But scoring 100 was never a goal."

In the days after Wagner's 100-point performance—which came in a 157-67 shellacking of a conference opponent, Gloucester Township Tech—sportswriters and radio babblers, locally and nationally, sermonized about the death of sportsmanship. (That same Tuesday night Cedric Hensley, a 6'4" junior swingman from the Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas, scored 101 points in a 178-28 win over The Banff School, whose squad included 10 freshmen, none taller than 6 feet.) Some commentators flayed the Camden coach, Glen Jackson, for having his team, ranked third in the country by USA Today, press all 32 minutes of the game. Psychologists were trotted out to pontificate about the damage done to the kids on the losing side. There was only one problem. The losers from Gloucester, they were just fine.

"We were all laughing about it, except Coach," says Brandon Sunkett, a Gloucester Tech starter. "You know Dajuan's gonna score; what you don't know is how. So you might as well enjoy watching it."

In Camden basketball is part of the culture, and at certain playgrounds—9th and Ferry, Whitman Park, 8th and Central-Wagner has been a legend since grade school. He is an offensive machine, able to score off the dribble or from NBA three-point range. He's bigger than the rappers, bigger than the dealers, bigger than the preachers. He's Juanny, and all through Camden his exploits are known. "This is a city where people are trying to survive," says Ray Massi, a Camden police captain. "Somebody like Dajuan comes along, you've got to celebrate him. We know the kids who get in trouble in this city. He's not one of them."

Except on one occasion. On Dec. 8 Wagner and two other Camden High students allegedly beat up a fourth student in a school hallway. All three boys were charged with juvenile delinquency and suspended for five days. The victim required four stitches over his eye, but no weapons were involved. A pretrial conference is scheduled for next week to determine whether punitive action will be taken.

Before Wagner even arrived at the police station that day, a small cadre of lawyers had gathered there on his behalf. That's what happens when you're the best high school basketball player in the country. The night of his 100-point game, a family friend arranged for Wagner to have dinner with two Super Bowl participants, Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens and Jessie Armstead of the New York Giants. Wagner has often hung with Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The kid is connected. His father, Milt (Ice) Wagner, was a celebrated guard at Camden High 20 years ago, famous for prodigious scoring without breaking a sweat. In 1986 he won an NCAA title with Louisville, and in 1988 he won an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers. The old man—he's 37 now—played two years in the NBA, nine overseas and three more in various U.S. pro leagues before retiring last year.

Milt never married Dajuan's mother, Lisa Paulk, but he wasn't a mail-it-in father, either. Last season an old acquaintance of Milt's, John Calipari, was working as an assistant coach for the Sixers, and the Wagners, father and son, frequently attended practices. "I'd watch," says Dajuan. "That's how you learn."

Calipari attended many Camden High home games, mesmerized by Wagner but also intrigued by a Panthers forward, 6'8" Arthur Barclay, who grew up in the same house as Dajuan. Arthur and Dajuan think of themselves as brothers, although they are not blood relatives, and Wagner has been saying for years that he would play his college ball wherever his brother went. Calipari, who became tight with the family, took Dajuan at his word.