Coveted Greensboro, North Carolina basketball recruit P.J. Hairston has chosen UNC over Georgetown, Wake Forest, Florida and arch-rival Duke. The out of state options were eliminated once it became clear to Hairston that he stay close to home. That left Duke vs. North Carolina. An all too familiar choice between the top players in the country, year in and year out. However, it wasn’t a coach shmoozing Hairston or the facilities that drew him to his choice but rather the ability to spell his name right that made his decision easier.
“The thing about Duke was, every time they sent me a letter, they wouldn’t spell my name right,” Hairston said. “They would have ‘T.J. Harrison’ or something like that. And I’m like, ‘OK. How can I go here? You can’t even spell my name right.’ It’s only two letters and HAIR and STON. I’m trying to figure out how that’s so hard.”
Although P.J. does claim that it wasn’t just the fact that they couldn’t spell his name that weighed on his decision.
“Don’t get me wrong. Duke is a great school,” Hairston said. “It wasn’t just because they couldn’t spell my name right why I didn’t go there. I don’t feel that I’m a Duke-type player, because they have a crazy system. It’s like mechanical.”
P.J. will enroll in classes this June at UNC and can expect nothing but the most ruthless response from the crowd when they travel to Cameron Indoor.