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All-out effort Memphis pulls out all stops to land phenom Wagner
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- John Calipari recruited a lot more than Dajuan Wagner to get one of the nation's best high school players to come to Memphis. And the courtship was a long time in the making. In fact, Calipari started wooing Wagner even before the former New Jersey Nets coach returned to the college ranks in March 2000. Once at Memphis, Calipari gave Wagner plenty of reasons to play for the Tigers. First, he gave a scholarship to Wagner's best friend, Arthur Barclay, a 6-foot-8 forward who lived with Wagner and his mother while they attended Camden High School together. Calipari also hired Wagner's father, Milt, as director of basketball operations in May 2000. A month later, Wagner announced he would join the Tigers. "If Arthur Barclay weren't here, Dajuan probably wouldn't be here," Calipari said. "That's the truth. Those two are like brothers." The 6-2 Wagner, who has a 100-point game on his resume and is New Jersey's career scoring leader, thought briefly about entering the NBA draft. But he knew only big men have been able to make the jump directly out of high school. "Once he realized that, he said he was going to come" to Memphis, Barclay said. Wagner will get a chance to see the NBA up close this season: The Grizzlies play their first season in Memphis after moving from Vancouver. He'll also be playing for a coach who spent more than two seasons in the NBA after eight years at Massachusetts Wagner's father was glad his son chose college. "He wasn't going to be a top-five pick or anything like that," said Milt Wagner, who won an NCAA title with Louisville in 1986 and an NBA championship as a reserve with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988. "He still needed a little more maturing and a little more polishing. With Coach Calipari, he'll get just what he needs to get to the next level," he said. That includes lessons about discipline. The 18-year-old Wagner was sentenced to probation for a year for assault. Last December, Wagner and two friends got into a fight with another teen at school. He was charged as a juvenile. Calipari has kept Wagner so busy with practice, conditioning and studying that he has had little time to get into more trouble. His free time is spent sleeping. "You've got to work hard to play for him. He said that he was going to teach me, make sure I get my education," Wagner said, referring to Calipari. How long the talented guard stays with the Tigers remains to be seen. "I want to get better, but I want a championship," said Wagner, whose shooting touch has drawn comparisons to NBA MVP Allen Iverson. That might come sooner than later for someone already listed as a possible high pick in next year's draft. The Tigers, a third-place team in last season's NIT, are considered one of the favorites, along with Cincinnati, to win Conference USA. Wagner is a big reason why. His biggest challenge has been learning to work with his teammates and not having to score nearly every point as he did in high school, Calipari said. "The game's too hard if you're doing it by yourself, and he's learning that," he said. "He's wearing out -- the school work and the basketball and the weight training. The head's spinning on his shoulders, but that's to be expected." Wagner has been in Memphis since July, and he is enjoying the warm welcome from Tigers fans. And Wagner figures if he can help the Tigers win, he can shed the nickname of "Mr. 100." "I'm tired of that. If I win a championship, no one will talk about that," he said. Until draft time anyway.
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