The lure of more potential playing time apparently weighed heavily on the mind of Detroit’s Malik Hairston.
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard orally committed to Oregon on Wednesday, becoming the fifth player in head coach Ernie Kent’s heralded 2004 recruiting class.
And he’s one heck of a recruit.
Http://www.rivals.com ranks Hairston as the seventh best player in the nation and the No. 2 shooting guard. He was named to the 2004 Parade and McDonald’s All-America teams after averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocks per game as a senior at Renaissance High School.
He is such a talent that he has been compared to North Carolina State junior Julius Hodge, the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year.
“Malik is a terrific all-around player,” recruiting analyst Dave Telep told CBS SportsLine.com’s Gregg Doyel in mid-April. “That’s his gift, that he can do a lot of things. If you’re looking for (former Syracuse freshman) Carmelo Anthony, a guy who’s going to come in and score 25 a night, I’m not sure he’ll be that for a while. But he’s the kind of guy people rally around. He’s just a great glue guy.”
At one point, Hairston had six schools on his potential list, including the Pacific-10 Conference’s UCLA. But in recent weeks, he had pared down the list, eventually saying on Tuesday that the Ducks and Kansas were his finalists.
Factors in his decision, according to various reports, were the amount of playing time he would receive during the 2004-05 season, the school’s proximity to Detroit and whether or not the program he selected would have a realistic chance at winning a national championship in upcoming years.
“It was tough,” Hairston told the Lawrence Journal-World. “It’s a great situation at Kansas. You have to look at the whole picture to see what was best in the long run. Kansas is a great program. They have a great coach in Bill Self. They’ll have a lot of success regardless of the recruits. I wish them the best of luck.”
Oregon has yet to receive Hairston’s National Letter of Intent, making his announcement on Wednesday not binding. However, an Oregon spokesperson said the Ducks expect to announce an official signing sometime today.
With Oregon, Hairston has the opportunity to start and contribute right away. He is already rumored as a potential replacement for Luke Jackson.
With Aaron Brooks returning at the point guard spot and fellow recruits Chamberlain Oguchi and Bryce Taylor — both of whom are ranked in Rivals’ top 75 — the Ducks have the potential for a young, fast and talented backcourt.
But the Ducks may not have Hairston’s services for long. His father, Richard Hairston, told the Detroit Free Press Wednesday he does not expect Malik to stay for a full four years. That alone may have lessened the likelihood he would sign with Michigan, because the Wolverines lose just one player from a team that won the National Invitation Tournament.
“What we were looking for was something specific in terms of playing time and how he would fit in,” Richard Hairston told the paper. “As a part of (Michigan head coach) Tommy Amaker’s thing, he’s not willing to talk about that, and I understand that. He has ballplayers that have performed well for him. So my child says to me, ‘Dad, I want to go into a situation where I can develop and have the opportunity to leave college in two years.’ “
Hairston, Oguchi and Taylor join Maarty Leunen — 60th best in the nation according to Rivals — and recently signed point guard Kenny Love to make up the 2004 recruiting class. That group was ranked as 17th best in the nation according to http://www.CollegeSports.com before Hairston’s signing, and is expected to improve.