Wagner attended Camden High School, where he played with the varsity team since his freshman year. He debuted on December 19, 1997 against Highland, scoring 12 points: he went on to play 27 games in his first season, averaging 27.3 points and recording a season-high 45 against Red Bank on February 13, 1998, and at the end of the season he received the Freshman of the Year award from ESPN. In his sophomore year he played 17 games, with a new career-high 57 points against Pennsauken Tech on January 26: he finished the season averaging 35.3 points per game, and won the ESPN Sophomore of the Year award. The following year he played 28 games, and recorded another career high: on January 31, 2000 he scored 80 points in a 122–66 win against Pennsauken Tech. In his junior year he was already considered one of the top players of his class. At the end of the season he recorded an average of 31.9 points per game. For his senior year he debuted on December 15 scoring 36 points against Eastern, followed by a 50-points performance against Bishop Eustace. On January 16, 2001 he scored 100 points against Camden County Tech. He converted 42 of his 61 field goals and 6 free throws: he scored 25 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second, 26 in the third and 28 in the fourth. He went on to score 50 or more points 4 more times during the season, and averaged 42.5 points in 29 games played as a senior. He scored 3,462 points in high school, and scored 25 points in the McDonald's All-American Game. Wagner is considered by many to be the greatest high school basketball player in New Jersey history.
College career
Wagner considered offers from Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis and Miami, and signed with Memphis in June 2000. He played one year of college basketball at the University of Memphis. He scored a season-high 32 points against Old Dominion on November 14, 2001 in his 2nd game with Memphis, and tied his season high on March 26, 2002 against Temple during the NIT semifinal. He contributed with 16 points in the title game against South Carolina and at the end of the season he earned several NIT and conference honors, including the MVP award of the 2002 NIT. He also broke the record for points in a single season for Memphis with 762. His coach, John Calipari, revoked Wagner's scholarship after his freshman year to force him to enter the NBA, because Calipari believed that Wagner should not avoid the money he would receive as a first-round draft pick.
College statistics
Professional career
Wagner was chosen with the sixth overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his rookie season he averaged 13.4 points per game and shot 36.9% from the field. In the later part of his rookie year, Wagner often attended the trial of his stepfather Leonard "Pooh" Paulk, who was indicted as an alleged drug supplier. Wagner was hampered by injuries and health problems thereafter. He averaged a career-low 4.0 points in 11 games played during the 2004-05 season, and was hospitalized for ulcerative colitis. The Cavaliers did not exercise their option on his contract for the 2005-06 season and subsequently Wagner was out of the league. His colitis condition was not amenable to medication and, after consulting with New York Knicks head coach Larry Brown, who referred him to a New York medical expert, Wagner underwent surgery to remove half his colon on October 25, 2005, at Mount Sinai Hospital. In April 2006, Wagner began training with former high school rival Omar Wellington at Nexxt Level Sports in Cherry Hill Township, New Jersey. During his recovery, he was featured in the Philadelphia Daily News and on Comcast SportsNet; both reported that he would be attempting a comeback for the 2006 season. On September 22, 2006, he signed a two-year $1.6 million contract with the Golden State Warriors. On November 20, two months after he recovered from a serious illness to make an NBA comeback, the Warriors bought out his contract after he had played one game and scored four points with the team. On August 31, 2007, Wagner signed a one-year contract with Prokom Trefl Sopot in Poland. Averaging 8.3 points in six games, he returned to South Jersey after hurting his hip and reinjuring his knee in Poland. On October 12, 2015, he attempted to return to basketball and planned to sign with the AmeriLeague. However, the league folded days later, after it was discovered that the founder was a con artist. Wagner has been a resident of West Deptford Township, New Jersey.
