UNC junior guard PJ Hairston had a busy off-season.
After a couple of run-ins with the law Carolina head coach Roy Williams suspended Hairston from the team indefinitely in July. But when preseason workouts begin Friday Hairston will be allowed to practice with the team.
H/T: Yahoo! Sports
In a statement Thursday, Williams said the practice decision is Hairston’s ”first step toward permanently earning his place back on the roster.”
”P.J. has done more conditioning this preseason than any player I’ve ever had,” Williams said. ”He’s done more than three times more than any player I’ve ever had. He has not asked me the question yet but I know it’s in his mind: he’s wondering if he’s on a track scholarship.”
Williams said Hairston has done everything asked of him to earn his way back so far but there’s more to do. He said Hairston has shown ”a sense of remorse” for mistakes that ”embarrassed his family, our program and the university.”
Hairston, who was the Tar Heels leading scorer last season, has also had all leadership roles removed. Williams says he will make a final decision about how many games Hairston will miss before the season starts.
So basically, Hairston ran a little bit and will miss no practice time. I figured the suspension talk was for show. Lucky for Hairston it happened in the off-season. I don’t expect PJ will miss more than one game if any.