Dajuan Wagner

Dajuan Wagner

Wagner in 2004.
Point guard
Personal information
Date of birth	February 4, 1983 (1983-02-04) (age 28)
Place of birth	Camden, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
College	Memphis
NBA Draft	2002 / Round: 1 / Pick: 6th overall
Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers
Pro career	2002–2008
Career history
Cleveland Cavaliers (2002–2005) Golden State Warriors (2006) Prokom Trefl Sopot (2007-08)
Career highlights and awards
2001 Naismith Prep Player of the Year
Stats at NBA.com

Dajuan Marquett Wagner (born on February 4, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player.

Wagner is the son of former University of Louisville and NBA player Milt Wagner.^[1] He was forced out of the NBA by debilitating health problems early into his career, but he made a comeback after undergoing major surgery to remove his colon.

Wagner had a phenomenal career at Camden High School and is perhaps better remembered for scoring 100 points in a high school game than his exploits at the collegiate and professional levels. He averaged 42.5 points as a senior, scored 3,462 points in high school (the most in New Jersey high school history, breaking former high school star Lorne Singleton's scoring record of 3,451 points) and scored 25 points in the McDonald's All-American Game.^[2]

He played one year of college basketball at the University of Memphis. His coach, John Calipari, revoked Wagner's scholarship after his freshman year to force him to enter the NBA, because Calipari believed that Wagner should not avoid the money he would receive as a first-round draft pick.^[3][4] Wagner was chosen the sixth overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Often compared to Allen Iverson for his scoring ability, he had mixed success in his rookie season; although he averaged 13.4 points per game, he shot only 36.9% from the field. Wagner was hampered by injuries and health problems thereafter. He averaged a career low 4.0 points in only 11 games played during the 2004-05 season, and was hospitalized for ulcerative colitis. The Cavaliers did not exercise their option on his contract for the 2005-06 season and subsequently Wagner was out of the league.

His colitis condition was not amenable to medication and, after consulting with New York Knicks head coach Larry Brown, who referred him to a New York medical expert, Wagner underwent surgery to remove his entire colon on October 25, 2005 at Mount Sinai Hospital.

In April 2006, Wagner began training with former high school rival, Omar Wellington at Nexxt Level Sports in Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey. During his recovery, he was featured in the Philadelphia Daily News and on Comcast SportsNet both reported that he would be attempting a comeback for the 2006 season.

On September 22, 2006 he signed a two-year contract with the Golden State Warriors.^[1] On November 20, two months after the former college star recovered from a serious illness to make an NBA comeback, the Warriors bought out his contract.^[5]

On August 31, 2007 Wagner signed a one-year contract with Prokom Trefl Sopot in Poland.^[6][7]

See also

• List of basketball players who have scored 100 points in a single game

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Wagner signs with Warriors after two years out of NBA
2. ^ Strauss, Robert. " IN PERSON; Hoop Dreams Revisit Camden", The New York Times, February 13, 2000. Accessed April 6, 2008.
3. ^ Price, S. L. (2011-03-14). "Too Slick, Too Loud, Too Successful Why John Calipari Can't Catch A Break". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc.. http://cnnsi.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?expire=&title=The+NCAA+hasn%27t+held+him+accountable+for+any+major+-+03.14.11+-+SI+Vault&urlID=448405447&action=cpt&partnerID=289881&fb=Y&url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1182972/index.htm. Retrieved March 09, 2011. 
4. ^ King, Jason (2009-03-17). "Just win, baby". Yahoo! Sports. http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-calipari031709. Retrieved March 09, 2011. 
5. ^ ESPN - Warriors release little-used guard Wagner - NBA
6. ^ Prokom signs point guard Wagner - On-Court - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL
7. ^ Dajuan Wagner in Prokom Trefl! August 31, 2007

External links

• Dajuan Wagner player profile @ NBA.com
• NBA career stats @ basketball-reference

Persondata
Name	Wagner, Dajuan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 4, 1983
Place of birth	Camden, New Jersey
Date of death
Place of death