Syracuse basketball 5-star target, No. 1 junior, stellar in win vs. ranked foe

Syracuse basketball recruiting target D.J. Wagner, a 2023 five-star point guard, showed why he’s the consensus No. 1 junior across the country.

The 6-foot-3 Wagner led his high school to a hard-fought, tight victory over another elite squad in a match-up of nationally ranked groups, with this contest getting aired on ESPNU.

According to media reports, Wagner tallied 25 points as Camden High School in Camden, N.J., escaped Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J., by a final count of 67-64.

Per MaxPreps national basketball editor Jordan Divens, Wagner connected on 11-of-25 from the field and hit multiple huge shots down the stretch of this thrilling game.

Camden High School, ranked No. 2 in Divens’ latest national top-25 poll, ran its success streak to 39 encounters in outlasting Roselle Catholic High School, which is rated No. 12. This was the 2021-22 stanza opener for both units.

Syracuse basketball five-star target D.J. Wagner shined in his season debut.

According to Divens, 2023 five-star combo guard Simeon Wilcher led Roselle Catholic High School with a team-high 21 points. Orange coaches offered a scholarship to Wilcher in mid-July.

Wilcher, like Wagner one of the best all-around prospects in the 2023 cycle, said in some media reports that he had high interest in Syracuse basketball, but he ultimately committed to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member North Carolina.

The battle between Camden High School and Roselle Catholic High School was one of numerous high-level games scheduled to air on ESPN networks as part of a showcase of contests in 2021-22.

Syracuse basketball coaches offered Wagner this past August at the Orange’s Elite Camp. He has several other big-time offers, including from Kentucky, Memphis and Villanova.

Wagner was stellar as a sophomore, and ahead of his junior team, he got named to the MaxPreps pre-season All-America first team. Wagner certainly kicked off his 2021-22 stanza in an impressive way.

Wagner and his Camden High School colleagues have a daunting docket in the current campaign, including a match-up on January 13 of next year versus the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla.

While Camden High School is one of the best public high schools nationwide, the same can be said for the Montverde Academy, although this squad is an independent academy and part of the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference.

In October, ‘Cuse coaches offered 2023 five-star forward Kwame Evans Jr. and 2024 five-star power forward Derik Queen, both of whom play for the Montverde Academy.