Syracuse basketball 5-star target, No. 1 junior, in the running for top honor

The mid-season team of contenders for the 2022 Naismith High School Trophy recently got disclosed, and a Syracuse basketball recruiting target made the cut.

Of the 25 high-school players named to this squad, who remain in contention for the 2022 Naismith High School Trophy honoring the best prospect around the country, multiple former Orange recruiting prospects were included, as well as one player who currently holds a ‘Cuse scholarship offer.

That player is Syracuse basketball target D.J. Wagner, a 2023 five-star point guard who is a junior at Camden High School in Camden, N.J. The 6-foot-3 Wagner got an offer from ‘Cuse coaches last August at the team’s annual Elite Camp.

Others on the mid-season team include former Orange recruiting prospects such as 2022 four-star guard Chance Westry (Auburn), 2022 four-star guard J.J. Starling (Notre Dame), 2022 five-star point guard Dior Johnson (Oregon), 2022 five-star power forward Jarace Walker (Houston) and 2022 five-star big man Kyle Filipowski (Duke).

Syracuse basketball five-star target D.J. Wagner is having a strong junior year.

Wagner was only one of a handful of 2023 players on the 2022 Naismith High School Trophy’s mid-season squad, with the majority of the honorees coming from the 2022 cycle.

That gives you an indication of just how good Wagner is. In one of his more recent games, Wagner tallied 21 points, five rebounds and two steals as Camden High School defeated Milton High School in Milton, Ga., by a final count of 63-55 at the prestigious 2022 Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Camden High School is one of the best public high-school teams nationwide, although it did recently drop two encounters, to the powerhouse Montverde Academy from Montverde, Fla., and to the Calvary Christian Academy out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Besides the Orange, Wagner holds scholarship offers from high-major programs including Kentucky, Memphis, Villanova and Temple.

A pre-season All-American candidate ahead of the 2021-22 stanza, Wagner is the son of Dajuan Wagner, who played for Kentucky head coach John Calipari at Memphis for one season prior to getting selected at No. 6 overall in the first round of the 2002 NBA Draft.

Multiple national analysts and recruiting insiders on the 247Sports Web site as well as Rivals.com have forecast D.J. Wagner to Kentucky. The ‘Cuse appears to be a long shot in ultimately prevailing for Wagner.