The reaction to
DaJuan Wagner's 100 point game continue to pour in. A lot of coaches,
including Bob Hurley Sr., are not particularly impressed with the way Camden was
coached, and that ranges from keeping the press on to letting him score so
heavily at all.
DaJuan is apparently not pleased with the reactions, and to an extent we can
sympathize. Here's a kid who is getting the full treatment, posses and
hangers-on, and a coach who did him a significant disservice. We feel a
certain amount of sympathy for almost any kid in his situation, because unless
your parents are profoundly concerned with keeping you well grounded, your
perceptions of the world are just unbelievably warped. You could argue
that Grant Hill's mom is one of the best examples of this. She kept his ego
pretty firmly in check.
Anyway, listen to what
other coaches are saying:
- Bob Hurley, St. Anthony's:Â "Wagner's astounding performances
will come, but you have to look at this differently when there's a 90-point
spread in the game. I don't think the kid scoring 100 points is necessarily
bad. But what is bad is being up 90 points and still pressing. I would do
things just a little differently." - Steve Ricciardi, AAU Coach: "I'd have to say to the coach, 'What in
the world were you thinking about?' And you have to feel for the other team.
I don't get it. If the score was 120-100 and he got 100, with the team
needing every point, then I could understand it. But this way, I don't
understand it. Maybe the (NJSIAA) has to take a stronger hand in terms of
sportsmanship, but I don't know if they can do anything." - Bob Farrell, Seton Hall Prep: "As a coach, I wouldn't even let my
team score 100 points. You have to respect your opponent. To say the thing
came in the flow of the game -- when you've scored 157 points and you're up
by 90 -- that just doesn't make any sense to me. - Greg Tynes, Clifford Scott: "If I had a kid with 82 points going into
the fourth (Wagner actually had 72) quarter, I might let him got for it. But
I don't agree at all about pressing the entire game, and that's really the
only way you could do it. How do you get 60 shots off within the normal
flow?" - Kevin Boyle, St. Patrick's : "He's had a number of unbelievable games
throughout his career and he's a legitimate All-American, if not the best
player in the country. But, personally, I would rather say I had 57 against
St. Pat's as my highest game ever, or 53 against St. Anthony or something.
Scoring 100 in a game you win by 90 is insignificant. And beating a team by
90 is really uncalled for."