P.J. Hairston, Sophomore, Shooting Guard, North Carolina
Overview:
Overlooked a bit because of fellow top flight recruit James McAdoo, P.J. Hairston is coming to Chapel Hill to make waves. He is a big bodied shooting guard with unlimited range who can take the ball to the hole. If defenders play off him, he will shoot from way behind the arc. If someone gets in his face, he can muscle smaller defenders and get to the rim. On the downside, there is no in between for Hairston. Not yet anyway.
Playing in Roy Williams’ open offensive system should be golden for Hairston who reportedly turned down rival Duke for just that reason. He needs to keep his weight in check and work on his mid-range game but he should have the opportunity to flourish at UNC.
Final Projection:
Opportunity is the key word for P.J. Hairston’s NBA prospects. With the return of essentially the entire squad that reached the Elite Eight last season, North Carolina has no shortage of players and a fixed number of minutes to spread around. There is no questioning that Hairston could turn into a Joe Johnson or Eric Gordon type shooting guard at the next level. However, that may be very far off if he doesn’t see a lot of floor time his freshman season in college. Just based on available playing time and proposed rotations, Hairston should play through the season preparing to be in school for more than one year.
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