DaJuan Wagner learned early on in his basketball career that criticism and stardom go hand in hand.

Take, for example, Wagner's first Nike All-America camp two summers ago. The 6-foot guard from Camden High (N.J.) dazzled onlookers with a non-stop assault of 3-point bombs, only to hear people say that he would never be a "true" point guard because he couldn't score going to the basket.

	DaJuan Wagner is one of the best.

So this year, at his third and last Nike camp in Indianapolis, Ind., Wagner made a concerted effort to prove his detractors wrong. He shot from the outside only when necessary, instead concentrating on "true" point guard skills, like driving and dishing. And what did that prove?

"Now they criticize me because I don't shoot the jumper," says Wagner, who averaged 31.9 points per game last year and is on pace to become the first South Jersey boys' basketball player to score more than 3,000 career points. "First they said I don't go to the hole. Now I go to the hole every time. You can't win with the critics."

But you can win with Wagner. After averaging 26.3 points per game as a freshman and 35.3 per contest as a sophomore , only to see both seasons end in the state playoffs , Wagner curtailed his often erratic shot selection and led his Panthers to the Group 3 and Tournament of Champions titles last year. In New Jersey, the four public school and two private school state champs square off in an end-of-the-year tourney called the Tournament of Champions.

Chris Monter of Monter Draft News said that while Wagner still takes the occasional 40-foot jumper, he is starting to become the "smart" scoring point guard that he'll need to be when he reaches the NBA.

"He definitely can score," says Monter, who sat among the many college coaches and recruiting analysts in Indianapolis back in early July. "He's a very good outside shooter. He can play above the hoop. The main thing with him is just becoming a little more of a point guard. With his size, he has to be a point guard (in the NBA)."

	DeJuan Wagner averaged 31.9 points per game last year and is on pace to become the first South Jersey boys' basketball player to score more than 3,000 career points.

Wagner said playing the point is fine with him, and it's his determination to master the position that is the very reason he won't declare himself eligible for the NBA draft next June.

"I feel I should go to college, get a couple years experience in college," said Wagner, who has orally committed to the University of Memphis. "I'm with Coach Cal (John Calipari), so all I can do is learn. He knows what it's like to go to the NBA, he's coached there."

While many recruiting analysts say Wagner would likely be a lottery pick next year based on his potential alone , and the growing trend of selecting high school standouts , Monter believes the teen they call "Messiah" will attend college for at least a year.

"His best friend's there (former Camden High teammate Arthur Barclay)," says Monter. "His dad's there (as an assistant coach). I'd be surprised if he turned pro."

Wagner says his father, Milt, a former University of Louisville star, is the secret behind his basketball success.

"If it weren't for my dad, I probably wouldn't be playing basketball," says Wagner, who lives with his mother, Lisa Moore. "I'm playing it because he did it. I've been around it all my life. I know a lot of stuff a lot of kids don't know because he's been around it, too. He helped me mature."

Milt was not among the 300 or so college coaches scouting the Nike camp, but there was a Wagner working on players behind the scenes. DaJuan says he spent his spare time encouraging his All-American camp-mates Tyson Chandler (Dominguez High, Calif.) and Rashaad Carruth (Oak Hill Academy, Va.) to join him at Memphis.

"To tell you the truth, (Memphis') involvement with me is DaJuan Wagner," says Chandler, a 6-foot-11 center who many say will likely be the top pick in next year's NBA draft. Carruth has verbally committed to the University of Kentucky. "I've always wanted to play with him. He's a great player. You always want to be surrounded by great players. I enjoy watching him."

Even those who Wagner has yet to start recruiting echo Chandler's sentiments.

"DaJuan Wagner is [the best player at Nike]," says Pontiac Northern High (Mich.) junior forward Lester Abrams. "He can score anytime he wants to. I haven't seen him miss a shot yet. He goes straight to the basket and makes everything."

If only the critics were listening.