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Hairston stayed; rest is history BASKETBALL

March 14, 2009 12:45 am

Keith and Natalie Hairston realized long ago that their son, Josh, would face some difficult decisions early in his life, choices that involve special opportunities most people can only dream of.

The indicators were especially evident during Josh's annual physical exams as a child.

"From the time he was born, Josh always was off the scale in every category," Keith Hairston said. "He would max everything."

They were also apparent any time Josh stepped on the basketball court. His talent was unmistakable. And when Josh paired that ability with his unique physical endowments, it was obvious that basketball could be much more than his hobby.

It could be his ticket to a free college education, the fame and prestige that go hand in hand with high-level college ball, and more.

The Hairstons naturally were determined to maximize Josh's special combination of height and skill, but they have gone about it in a way that bucks a recent trend in the Fredericksburg area.

Josh has eschewed some attractive scholarship offers from several preparatory schools with high-caliber basketball programs to remain at Courtland High. Instead of leaving home to magnify his national exposure and develop his game by playing with and against Division I-caliber players on a daily basis, as most of the top local players have done in the last decade, the 6-foot-8, 205-pound junior stayed put and led the Cougars to tonight's Group AA Division 4 state championship game. Courtland plays Salem tonight at 9 p.m. at the Siegel Center in Richmond.

Simultaneously, with the help of his participation on a top summer league team in Washington, he has earned a full basketball scholarship to Duke University.

"I felt that transferring to a private school wasn't really necessary," Josh said in an interview at his home this week. "Yeah, you miss out on all the talent up [in Northern Virginia] playing at the private schools and all the competition, but I didn't feel it was worth leaving my family and friends during the week to travel up to school. I didn't want to leave here."

PRIVATE SCHOOLS COME CALLING

The Hairstons have had several years now to get accustomed to recruiters' selling points. Josh's services have been coveted by prep school and college coaches since he was 6-1 with size-14 shoes in seventh grade.

After Josh's freshman year, prep schools presented him with a compelling case based specifically on two benefits that every high school basketball prospect covets: accelerated skill development and national exposure.

Had Josh, 17, transferred in pursuit of elite competition that would help him improve his skill set, it wouldn't have been a surprise. Many of the area's best prospects in recent years, such as Justin Anderson, Chris Johnson, Jay Booker and Joe Posey, cited developmental considerations as part of their justification for transferring from local public school programs.

They recognized that private schools provide the opportunity to play against a caliber of competition more similar to the level they hope to face in college, while the area's public schools have a dearth of top prospects.

Josh and Riverbend senior Mike Phillips (Howard University) are the only two area public school players this season that have committed to Division I programs.

Meanwhile, some private schools that were courting Josh--such as Bishop O'Connell and Paul VI in Northern Virginia and St. Patrick in New Jersey--play games that regularly feature multiple Division I players on the floor at any given time.

That discrepancy, however, didn't compel Josh to leave home. He didn't mind that the Cougars breezed through the Battlefield District, winning all 14 of their district games by an average of 26 points.

That's because he plays with and against some of the nation's top talent on his summer Amateur Athletic Union team, D.C. Assault. The team, which is sponsored by Adidas and recently produced NBA star Michael Beasley, travels all over the country and plays in tournaments headlined by dozens of top players who have committed to play for top Division I programs.

"I knew I could stay [at Courtland], but in the summer I'd still be playing the top competition and traveling and doing all that good stuff," Josh said.

ASSURANCE FROM COACH K

Josh originally feared he sacrificed personal development when he decided to stay at Courtland. But a conversation with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski put him at ease.

NCAA regulations prohibit coaches from publicly discussing players who have yet to sign a letter of intent, but Keith Hairston recalled Krzyzewski's words as one of the forces that keep Josh motivated to improve his game on his own.

"I look at Coach K's thing, which was, 'Josh, you just keep doing what you're doing, keep developing as a player, and when you get to Duke, we'll fit you in our system,'" Keith Hairston said. "So that's what I just keep trying to encourage Josh to do. Just continue to work, continue to get better. No matter where you go, that coach has got a plan for you."

And it's not as if Josh's development has been stagnant at Courtland. Coach J.T. Nino has overseen his maturation during the past three seasons. During that time, Josh has grown 4 inches and added 25 pounds of muscle to his frame.

"When he was a freshman, he wasn't accustomed to banging with big boys that were 17, 18 years old," Nino said. "I think as he has grown and gotten stronger, he feels comfortable scoring in different ways because he can feel he has the strength to either post up and make a strong move or penetrate and get to the rim and know he's probably going to get fouled."

Nino doesn't believe that private school programs have to be the exclusive breeding ground for top prospects. He reeled off the names of Virginia's top high school players of all time--Moses Malone, Allen Iverson, Grant Hill, Ralph Sampson, J.J. Redick and Alonzo Mourning--and noted they all played in public school.

"At their [public] school, they're the No. 1 option," Nino said. "They create a scoring mentality, an aggressive mentality. If Josh was playing with four guys with equal or sometimes better skill level, then that mentality doesn't get developed."

stepping up in aau

The fact that Josh stayed at Courtland and still garnered a scholarship to Duke is proof that he didn't need the increased national exposure he would have gained by transferring to a prep school.

His participation in AAU basketball took care of that.

After playing several years for a local summer league team called the Caroline Foxes, Josh played in one tournament for a higher-profile Northern Virginia team called NOVA United during the summer before his freshman year.

It marked the beginning of his rise to the top of the 2010 recruiting class. He is currently ranked 15th by Rivals .com, a leading recruiting Web site.

"Some colleges were there, Maryland and Georgetown, and that's actually where they first saw me," Josh said. "I had never played on a big AAU stage like that before. That's where I played the big talent locally. I think that's really what set it off for me."

Dreams of a title

When Josh determined he would not overwhelmingly benefit from the increased exposure and developmental gains he would experience at a private school, his decision became much easier.

Most importantly, he had no desire to leave his family in Fredericksburg. Josh figured he could attend a school in Northern Virginia by living with an aunt in Chevy Chase, Md., or with an AAU teammate during the week and return home on the weekends. But he is close with his sister, and the idea of leaving her during each week of the school year wasn't appealing.

"We talk all the time," Josh said. "If she has problems, she'll come talk to me. I just wanted to make sure I was there for her."

Another factor anchoring Josh in Fredericksburg was Courtland's team. He sensed the Cougars' chance for success this season after they advanced to the state quarterfinals.

Josh knew that the key components from that team would return this season.

In hindsight, Courtland's run to tonight's title game further validates his decision.

He and a few teammates were dining at an International House of Pancakes this week, when some strangers approached them.

"Bring home the trophy," one of them said.

Josh was moved. He sensed what a Courtland championship would mean to the community.

How could he play anywhere else?

"If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing," Josh said. "This has been fun. Courtland, with AAU, everything, I think everything happens for a reason. That's one reason why I'm so happy about this game Saturday. I feel like I was needed for Courtland. I feel like I've done a great deal to help. And not just me. Lamar [Giggetts], Luke [Sellers]. We all were brought here at the same time for a moment, for this very moment. I think we'll all recognize that Saturday."

Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com