Lloyd Daniels, a star basketball prospect whose...

Lloyd Daniels, a star basketball prospect whose career was sidetracked by drug and alcohol abuse, was critically wounded in a shooting that New York police said may have been drug-related.

Daniels, 22, was in stable condition after surgery. He was shot in the chest and neck, according to a hospital spokesman.

The 6-foot-8 Daniels attended four high schools in three states without graduating, enrolled in junior college at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif., and went on to Nevada Las Vegas.

He was dismissed from UNLV after being arrested on charges that he tried to buy cocaine from an undercover police officer. Daniels pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and entered a drug rehabilitation program.

He joined the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Assn. but was suspended because of rumored drug use. He went to the New Zealand Basketball Federation but was dismissed last year for missing practice and excessive drinking.