Shot for $8 Debt : Potential Star Cage Player Hits Bottom

NEW YORK —  Once he was compared to Magic Johnson, but Lloyd Daniels--an NBA all-star in waiting--never escaped the city streets where his game first flourished.

Daniels was in critical condition today after a drug-related shooting. (Story in Sports Section.) It was the latest episode in a troubled 22-year life that has taken him through five high schools, two rehabilitation centers and, finally, to a hospital.

Daniels was shot three times in the neck and torso Thursday in what police said was a dispute over an $8 drug debt.

Although his talent helped him receive chance upon chance to straighten out his life, it might have aggravated some of his problems, said a close friend of the 6-foot, 8-inch Daniels.

“I definitely think certain things were overlooked because of his talent,” said Lou D’Almeida, a basketball fanatic who took Daniels under his wing four years ago. “He wasn’t required to make any decisions early on.”

Daniels also had academic problems.

Poor Reading Skills

When he arrived at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1987, after playing at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, he could read only at a third-grade level.

Time magazine aptly summed up his diploma-less odyssey through five high schools in three states: “Each school had availed itself of his talents on the court but never managed to solve his profound reading problems.”

As he got older, Daniels began making the wrong decisions: He was arrested on a drug charge in Nevada. He began drinking heavily. His work habits led to his release from two teams within three months last year.

But through the drinking, the drugs, the dropouts, Daniels had one thing to hold on to: his game.

At Andrew Jackson High School in New York City, “Sweet Pea” Daniels averaged 31.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10 assists per game--until quitting in February, 1986.

In a high school all-star game several months later, Daniels limited Sean Higgins--a key performer for champion University of Michigan--to 8 points while pouring in 24 himself.

“He’s as gifted a ballplayer as I’ve ever seen,” said Jerry Tarkanian, head coach at college basketball powerhouse UNLV.

Tarkanian compared his overall skills to those of Lakers star Magic Johnson.

“Without question, he could have been an NBA all-star every year,” Tarkanian said.