Ht/Wt: 6' 5" / 200 lbs
Position: SG
Team: N. Carolina
Class: Junior

2014 Draft Profile - PJ Hairston

Strengths:
Hairston is one of the rare prospects that has already proven he can thrive at the next level by averaging nearly 22 points per game as part of the NBA D-League’s Texas Legends. Obviously the D-League is no NBA, but Hairston has played against grown men and had no problems generating offense.

The best part of his offense is by far his shooting ability. He hit almost 36 percent from deep for the Legends and is far more than a standstill shooter as he excels at coming off screens, executing dribble hand-offs, and pull-up jumpers.

Hairston also has a strong NBA body that allows him to overpower guards when driving to the basket, and finish through contact. He draws a good number of fouls and is an excellent free throw shooter when he gets to the line.

Defensively, his excellent wingspan allows him to play bigger than his height. He has quick feet allowing him to fight through screens and stay in front of players, and he is difficult to overpower. He has solid instincts and can read the passing lanes very well. He should be able to defend most wings at the next level as long as he is focused.

Weaknesses:
There have been questions about Hairston’s effort and it reared its head again in the D-League. He seems to take possessions off, especially on defense and looks to leak out that his normally solid rebounding numbers dropped dramatically in Texas.

While he is a very good scorer, he is not someone you can run you offense through. He is an average ballhandler, and a terrible passer, posting some of the worst assist numbers among all prospects in the draft.

Hairston also has some serious character red flags that are sure to give teams some pause. Teams will definitely investigate into the specifics of his dismissal at North Carolina and find out exactly what the reasoning was. When combined with questions about his effort and work ethic, they could definitely drop Hairston’s stock.

All in all, Hairston’s shooting ability is likely to find him a place in the NBA, but he has to be focused 100 percent on and off the court or his time in the NBA won’t be long.

PPG: 21.8 RPG: 3.5 APG: 0.8 SPG: 1.5 BPG: 0.4 FG%: 45.3 FT%: 87.0 3PT%: 35.8

Player profile submitted by: Corey Hansford – May 8th

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PJ Hairston Videos

A Day In The Life With UNC's PJ Hairston w/ Leslie McDonald


Behind The Scenes w/ PJ Hairston (NDO FiLMz)


2012-2013 North Carolina Tar Heels PJ Hairston Dunk Mix


Hairston Charged With Pot Possession







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