by Bill DiFilippo / @bflip33
Another college basketball star is being reinstated after an offseason-long suspension.
Yesterday, we told you about Ole Miss’s Marshall Henderson, who is being reinstated after several run-ins with the law during the offseason. Today, it’s North Carolina’s rising junior guard PJ Hairston.
Hairston was suspended from the team after two incidents with the police, one of which involved possession of marijuana and driving without a license.
While Hairston will be allowed to practice with the team, coach Roy Williams said that there has been no decision on whether or not he will be able to suit up for the Tar Heels when they kick off their season on November 8 against Oakland.
From News & Record:
Williams said he put Hairston through more conditioning this preseason than any player he has ever coached, and he added that he did three times as much running this summer than any other UNC player.
Williams would not specify what conditioning drills Hairston did. But as for the timetable on when he would make a decision on how many games Hairston would miss, he said he would announce that sometime before UNC’s first game on Nov. 8.
“When I decide what it’s going to be, I will tell you, and it will be before the season starts,” Williams said. “When I have all the information, when everyone’s added what they need to add to the equation, then I’ll make a decision.”
Hairston led North Carolina with 14.6 points per game last season, despite playing the fifth most minutes of anyone on the team.
