Kentucky basketball 5-star signee’s high school career ends early after on-court brawl

Kentucky’s five-star recruit, DJ Wagner, will have to wait until college to play his next game after an on-court brawl led to his high school getting eliminated from the NJSIAA state tournament.

Kentucky basketball signee DJ Wagner will start the next chapter of his basketball career without a state title in 2022 following a bench-clearing brawl between Camden and Eastside, two New Jersey high school powerhouses.

On Thursday, Camden and Eastside faced each other in the Camden County championship game with Camden boasting two Kentucky signees and five-star recruits in Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw.

In Camden’s bid to defend its state title, the game took a nasty turn late in the second quarter when Camden senior forward Cornelius Robinson appeared to hit Eastside’s Titus Bacon in the head. Bacon punched Robinson in retaliation, initiating an on-court brawl in which Wager can be seen chasing after Bacon.

Here’s a short clip of the incident:

Kentucky signees DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw end their high school careers on a sour note

In the aftermath of the brawl, the Camden City School District removed both teams from the New Jersey state tournament, and Wagner and Bradshaw will officially end their high school careers without a trophy this year.

Wagner led Camden in scoring during every one of his high school seasons, averaging a career-high 22.5 points in his senior campaign. The five-star guard is expected to be a high lottery pick in 2024, as he will likely play one season for the Kentucky Wildcats before declaring for the NBA Draft.

As for Bradshaw, the 7-foot center also heads to Kentucky as a five-star recruit, joining John Calipari’s No. 1 recruiting class that includes Wagner, Justin Edwards, Robert Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard.

Camden stars Wagner and Bradshaw won’t get to play out their senior seasons but leave the high school as local legends ready to compete against the best in the NCAA.