Wagner making most of his second chance
Janny Hu, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, October 8, 2006


He's been called a "steal" and a "physical specimen." And that's aside
from his status as a medical miracle.

After all, it has been a year since Dajuan Wagner had his colon
removed.

His muscles are defined. His body fat registers at 2.4 percent. His
shooting stroke is effortless. It's been nearly two years since Wagner
saw action in an NBA game, and he looks as if he's barely missed a
beat.

Warriors coach Don Nelson calls him one of the standouts of training
camp and his best shooter to date. Wagner hears the praise and a
wistful look crosses his face.

"You do something your whole life and you get it taken away from you
...." he said. "It was hard."
The stomach pain began in college. Wagner didn't know why.

After setting the all-time scoring record as a high schooler in New
Jersey, all he wanted was to dominate the college game at Memphis. He
averaged 21.2 points in earning Conference USA Freshman of the Year
honors and led the Tigers to the NIT championship in 2002.

When the NBA beckoned that spring, Wagner obliged.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, pre-LeBron James, drafted him with the sixth
overall pick and thought they had their future shooting star.

But the abdominal pain didn't go away. Wagner started his rookie year
on the injured list with what was diagnosed as a bladder infection. He
missed most of his second season recovering from knee surgery. By the
time his third season began in 2004, the player once called "The
Messiah" for his scoring prowess was having trouble just putting up a
shot.

He was fatigued. He was in pain. And he still didn't know why.

When Wagner was finally diagnosed with colitis, an inflammation of the
colon, he had lost nearly 30 pounds. Doctors tried various medications,
but nothing seemed to help.

"He could barely function as a human being, no less a basketball
player," said Dr. Joel Bauer, vice-chairman of the Department of
Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Bauer said Wagner had "failed all medical management" when he first saw
him as a patient in fall 2005. Surgery was the only alternative. On
Oct. 5, Bauer removed Wagner's entire colon and rectum.

Using the lining from Wagner's small intestine, Bauer created a pouch
that became the end of Wagner's modified digestive tract. It wasn't
exactly the stuff of dinner conversations, but for Wagner, it meant
relief.

"You knew you were going to get better," he said. "I was going through
hell trying to go through medicine, and it wasn't getting any better.
Now I could just recover."
Wagner spent the past summer playing in recreational leagues at Drexel
University and at the Cherry Hill Health and Racquet Club in his native
New Jersey. He said he worked out for the Sixers and Knicks and was
also scheduled to visit Seattle and Denver when he came to Golden State
for a week of tryouts.

Wagner impressed vice president Chris Mullin, who offered him a
partially guaranteed two-year contract, a "steal" in Nelson's opinion.

"He looks phenomenal," Mullin said. "If he has nothing else going on,
he's a physical specimen."

To Mullin, Wagner is all potential and promise. For all his medical
problems, Wagner is still just 23 years old. More importantly, he's a
healthy 23-year-old.

"He has no disease, no restrictions," Bauer said. "He should be
perfect."

Wagner makes sure to stay hydrated and keep away from greasy food.
Other than that, he is a normal basketball player again.

The only drawback to having Wagner around, Mullin jokes, is that Mullin
came out of high school the same year as Wagner's father, Milt, who won
an NCAA championship at Louisville and an NBA title with the Lakers.

In Golden State, Dajuan Wagner is reunited with assistant coaches Keith
Smart and Stephen Silas, whom he played for in Cleveland. Both had a
front-row view for Wagner's deteriorating health after a promising
rookie season.

"Last time I saw Juanie, it was in the hospital," Silas said. "He
looked skinny and gaunt, and just really looked bad."

"To see him now, how he's grown up, it's like 'Wow,' " Smart added.
Wagner has mostly been running with the Warriors' first-team during
scrimmages this week and figures to see extended time while Jason
Richardson recovers from knee surgery.

"He's definitely an offensive threat, and I've been impressed with his
defense -- he's no slouch there," Nelson said. "And his history in
college was that he didn't pass the ball, but he's been a real good
passer here."

As of Thursday, Nelson was even giving Wagner a look at point guard,
partly to give Davis some rest, and partly because Wagner has shown an
ability to handle everything else he's been asked to do.

Though Wagner played some point in high school and college, he has
primarily been used as a scorer despite a career shooting percentage of
36 percent.

Wagner says he'll play whatever position is asked, so long as he is
playing. That should be early and often, according to his coaches.

"Some people say you set the bar here, or you set the bar here,"
assistant coach Larry Riley said. "I don't know where to set the bar
for him, I really don't."
The Wagner file

Size: 6-foot-2, 190 pounds

Born: Feb. 4, 1983, Camden, NJ.; son of former NBA player Milt Wagner

In high school: Finished career as New Jersey's all-time leading prep
scorer with 3,462 points. ... Averaged 42.5 points per game his senior
year. ... Scored 100 points in a win against Gloucester Tech. ... Named
the Naismith and USA Today Player of the Year in 2001.

In college: Led Memphis to the NIT Championship in 2002. ... Earned
Conference USA Player of the Year honors after averaging 21.2 points,
3.6 assists and 1.19 steals per game. ... Broke Memphis' single-season
scoring record with 762 points. ... Declared for the NBA draft after
freshman season.

In the pros: Drafted sixth overall by Cleveland. ... Averaged 13.4
points and 2.87 assists per game his rookie year. ... Began the 2003-04
season on the injured list after undergoing knee surgery. ... Missed
the final 46 games in 2004-05 with colitis. ... Did not play during the
'06 season. ... Underwent surgery to remove his colon on Oct. 25, 2005.
.... Signed with Golden State on Sept. 22.

E-mail Janny Hu at jhu@sfchronicle.com.

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