Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Oregon's Malik Hairston’s team play and intelligence on the
court has made him a great fit for the men’s basketball team.
‘Little big
brother’game
As the team-dubbed younger sibling,
Malik Hairston's talents are full-grown
BY CLAYTON JONES
SPORTS EDITOR
Along and lean blue-chip recruit began his reign at
Oregon much the way he approaches the game he
loves: quietly dangerous.
He poured in a “quiet” 30 points and nine rebounds
in 19 minutes of play in his first appearance at
McArthur Court.
He is deemed the most prestigious player Oregon has
ever recruited.
He has been asked to fill the shoes of one of the best
players Oregon has ever seen in Luke Jackson.
He is only 17 years old.
And Malik Hairston isn’t phased by any of it.
“I don’t feel any of that pressure at all,” the Detroit na
tive said of his role on the team. “I have confidence in my
game that I can get the job done.”
Assistant coach Kenny Payne said that Hairston’s per
formance thus far shows how he can handle the spotlight.
r
“For a 17-year-old kid to be averaging 13 points, four
rebounds and three assists per game is pretty amazing,”
the first-year assistant said. “He has a love and is a stu
dent of the game and is working to be his best. He
wants to win and he pushes his teammates and he
pushes me.”
He is unlike many top recruits because he plays the
game with great intelligence and excellent fundamentals
combined with phenomenal physical abilities.
Point guard Aaron Brooks sees first-hand everyday
what Hairston brings to the court.
“Malik isn’t the type of guy who is going to dazzle the
crowd,” Brooks added. “He stays within the system and
handles the pressure extremely well.”
Brooks still doesn’t believe he’s so young.
“I don’t think he’s 17,” Brooks said. “I haven’t seen a
birth certificate or anything so I think he’s like 19.”
Going up and over
Growing up in Detroit, Hairston has been surrounded
by basketball since he could walk. His father played bas
ketball at Morris Brown College in Atlanta and his older
brothers also played.
“I think I tried to dribble and shoot when I was three,”
Hairston said.
As for being young for his grade, Hairston said his mom
enrolled him in school early.
“I went from pre-school to first grade and skipped
kindergarten,” Hairston said. “My mom said I was bored
— at least that is how she explained it.”
Hairston would step into high school and grow nearly
eight inches, leading to a breakout season his junior year.
He led Renaissance High School to the first of two city
championships that same season.
During his senior year he led his team to city and state
titles while accumulating a 27-0 record. He would aver
age 20 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists per game and
would record his fondest basketball memory.
During the state playoffs, he broke a mid-court trap
with only one person between him and the basket.
“I ran up and the guy was about 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 and
was trying to take a charge and I jumped over him and
dunked it,” Hairston said. “I’ve never actually jumped over
somebody before. I guess I got an extra boost.
“I might have ate my Wheaties that night.”
He would be invited to play in the McDonald’s All
American game, and after that his decision would have to
be made.
Heading West
Hairston wouldn’t decide to come to Oregon until late in
the recruiting process because he was unsure of whether he
wanted to go to college or enter the NBA draft.
“People thought I was an inconvenience to a lot of
coaches,” Hairston said. “But that’s my future, and that’s
much more important to me than anybody’s program. I
just wanted to make the best decision for me and I felt I
had the right to do that. ”
He knew fellow freshman Maarty Leunen from basket
ball camps around the country and asked where he was
going. Oregon was one of his choices.
HAIRSTON, page 7B
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