The final Tournament of Champions in New Jersey was an instant classic, pitting a Syracuse basketball five-star recruiting target against a former Orange five-star recruiting prospect.
And according to an expert, the ‘Cuse was in the house as Camden High School in Camden, N.J., went toe to toe with Roselle Catholic High School in Roselle, N.J., in the final game of the final Tournament of Champions event from the Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.
This battle featuring two of the premier high-school squads in New Jersey went to overtime, with Roselle Catholic High School prevailing over Camden High School in the extra session, 61-58, according to media reports.
Simeon Wilcher, a 2023 five-star combo guard, had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Roselle Catholic High School (29-2), according to an article on nj.com from Kevin Minnick, senior high-school sports reporter for NJ Advance Media.
Wilcher had received a scholarship offer from the Orange, but he committed to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member North Carolina last October.
Syracuse basketball checked out this entertaining high-school duel.
According to a tweet from Pro Insight director of scouting Andrew Slater, the Orange was among the college programs in attendance for the last Tournament of Champions to be held, along with Kentucky, Rutgers, DePaul, Iona and others.
Kentucky, Rutgers, Syracuse, DePaul, Iona, St. Joe’s among the programs for @rc_basketball vs @YouGotTheHigh pic.twitter.com/pgtqwid5da
— 𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 𝒮𝓁𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓇 (@Andrew__Slater) March 20, 2022
It’s not clear to me which high-school player or players in this N.J. contest a Syracuse basketball coach or coaches made the trip to watch.
My best guess is 2023 five-star point guard D.J. Wagner, the consensus No. 1 prospect in the junior class who stars for Camden High School (31-3).
The 6-foot-3 Wagner, an All-American for the 2021-22 stanza, finished with 23 points, three rebounds and six steals in the close setback, per Minnick’s story.
Syracuse basketball coaches offered a scholarship to Wagner this past August at the Orange’s annual Elite Camp. His other offers include from Kentucky, Memphis, Villanova and Temple. Some experts say Louisville, with its new head coach Kenny Payne, could make a run at Wagner, too.
Multiple national analysts have logged predictions on the 247Sports Web site, Rivals.com and On3.com for Wagner in the direction of Kentucky, and it does appear that those Wildcats could be considered a favorite in his recruitment. That being said, Wagner did say not too long ago regarding his recruiting process, “I’m still open to all opportunities. I’m still open to everyone.”
In prevailing at the Tournament of Champions final encounter, Roselle Catholic High School snapped Camden High School’s 25-game victory streak that occurred for a good portion of the 2021-22 term.
Despite losing in this event, Camden High School did recently secure its first NJSIAA Group 2 state title since 2000, with Wagner leading the way as the Panthers crushed Central High School in Newark, N.J., by a count of 93-52.