Hairston Visit the Photo Place

With signing, Hairston can truly say he's a Blue Devil

Hairston officially signs with Duke

Date published: 11/20/2009

BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

It was the 2006-07 school year when Josh Hairston entered the Fredericksburg-area basketball scene.

He played three years at Courtland High School, where he was named a Free Lance-Star All-Area performer twice and the co-player of the year as a junior.

Last season, he led the Cougars to the Group AA, Division 4 state championship.

Hairston, a 6-foot-9 forward, is spending his final year of high school at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Md.

He said it seems like he's been in high school forever, and that's why he was elated to sign a national letter of intent to play for Duke University on Monday in the Montrose Christian library.

"To be honest, signing that letter felt so good because I knew that was the last step," Hairston said in a telephone interview this week. "I knew my next step was stepping on Duke's campus and putting that Duke jersey on. These last four years have been good, but I'm ready to move on and take that next step in life."

Hairston is part of a three-man recruiting class that Duke announced yesterday.

He joins two point guards in Kyrie Irving (Elizabeth, N.J.) and Tyler Thornton (Washington).

He said he's disappointed the nation's No. 1 player in his class, Harrison Barnes, chose rival North Carolina over Duke and others in a fierce recruiting battle.

"It's disappointing to lose him, especially to UNC," Hairston said. "But Harrison's a good player. I'm not going to knock his game. I wish him the best of luck."

Even without Barnes in the mix, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke highly of his class in a statement released yesterday.

"Josh, Kyrie and Tyler will be tremendous additions to our program on and off the court," Krzyzewski said. "They are outstanding young men, terrific students and talented basketball players. We are excited about their respective futures in our program and look forward to watching them continue to grow and develop."

Hairston said he's certainly developing at Montrose Christian. He said transferring there is "probably one of the best decisions I've made in my life."

Hairston has grown an inch since he left Courtland, and Montrose Christian's weight training program has added 15 pounds of muscle to his frame.

He said Krzyzewski has mentioned he'll play a multi-dimensional role similar to the one Duke star Kyle Singler plays now.

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Date published: 11/20/2009