"Saw it all the way," Headen said after Camden beat Pennsauken, 62-54, in an Olympic Conference inter-division battle.
If you were a high school basketball fan, there was no better place to be on a Saturday afternoon in the winter than Camden's gymnasium. It wasn't just a game when the Panthers took the court. It was an event.
It's not like that anymore, but at least it's not like the last few seasons, either, when the Panthers struggled for victories and lost relevance in the South Jersey basketball scene.
"Brick by brick, we're rebuilding this thing," Camden first-year coach Cetshwayo Byrd said.
Byrd is a Camden graduate who was walking the halls when Louis Banks and Vic Carstarphen and Denny Brown were leading the Panthers to state titles in 1986 and 1987. Camden was a national power in those days.
The coach knows this current team is a long way from that level. And the reality is that Camden might never fully recapture its old glory - unless another Dajuan Wagner walks through those doors.
But there's a buzz around the Panthers for the first time in several seasons. The victory over Pennsauken was Camden's third in a row after a 2-5 start, including impressive triumphs over perennial powers Shawnee (by 75-44) and Camden Catholic (60-44).
"We just fought," Byrd said his team's performance against Pennsauken.
Headen scored 16, including that three-pointer from the middle of that painted circle that stabbed the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded.
"Can't beat that one," Byrd said.
Camden also received strong games from senior forwards Thomas Harper (20 points, seven blocks) and Ajwan "Scooter" Leaming (14 points, 15 rebounds).
"We're bringing it back," Headen said.
