Hairston Fayette County’s all-time leading scorer
James Hairston ranks as the all-time leading scorer in Fayette County basketball history. It is a distinction that he is very proud of.
鈥淚t feels great,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淚 think it was a great accomplishment for myself personally. A lot of people don鈥檛 understand how big that is. Me personally I think it鈥檚 pretty awesome and know that Fayette County had a lot of great athletes. I鈥檓 pretty stoked about that.鈥�
Hairston was a scoring dynamo on some outstanding teams at Connellsville High School in the early 2000鈥檚. A starter since his freshman year, Hairston was on Falcon squads that finished 18-8 in 2000-2001, 9-15 in 2001-02, 24-2 in 2002-03 and 26-4 in 2003-04. Connellsville lost to Penn Hills, 59-50, in the WPIAL semifinals in 2002-03, and fell to Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL finals, 57-47, in 2003-04.
鈥淢y sophomore year we weren鈥檛 getting over the hump,鈥� Hairston recalled. 鈥淢y junior and senior years I think we all came together and became a real, real good unit. We didn鈥檛 have a lot of great guys, but I think everybody played their part.
鈥淚 really give it up to the Coach Nick Bosnic, he knew what he was doing and he put guys in certain situations where they could succeed in certain things. I think that was a big part of us winning.鈥�
At 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds Hairston possessed great leaping ability 鈥� his nickname was 鈥淔lights鈥� 鈥� and he played everything for Connellsville from point guard to center.
鈥淢y freshman year I was young and just running,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 understand as much, my sophomore year it became more of a role I had to play. My junior and my senior seasons I think I just came to the point where I was able to play a lot of positions, and also what helped me was just playing outside a lot. I had AAU that I played also, when I was a freshman I was playing AAU. My development came from just playing a lot and getting on to the AAU circuit. It helped me to become more structured during basketball season.鈥�
Hairston is the all-time leading scorer at Connellsville and sits on top of the Fayette County scoring parade with 2,245 points.
鈥淎 lot of people would say that I was a slasher, that I would always get to the rim,鈥� Hairston offered. 鈥淚 was able to get out and run on the fast break. I was a slasher, but I was also able to become a point guard. I kind of enjoyed being a point guard because I knew at the next level that I would be a point guard.鈥�
The loss to Chartiers Valley in the WPIAL championship game is in the back of Hairston鈥檚 mind to this day.
鈥淚 can remember every game that I played,鈥� Hairston stated. 鈥淭he two losses in the WPIAL Tournament in 2002-03 in the semis and the 2003-04 in the title game, that was tough. My senior year at the Palumbo Center for the WPIAL championship, I remember that game specifically. Looking back I thought we were going to be able to get that victory. In the beginning we never thought we were going to get that far. The paper was always doubting us and the Pittsburgh area teams doubted us. I think it was a great experience for us. All of the guys on the team will always remember that game even though we did lose. It was the biggest stage that we ever got to play on.鈥�
Hairston captured some hardware during his playing days with the Falcons. He was named All-Section three years in a row, named to the Post-Gazette Fabulous 5 team in 2003 and 2004, a two-time WPIAL All-Star. He was second team All-State his junior and senior seasons.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 pretty cool what I was able to accomplish,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淚 have a lot of plaques at home and a lot of little trophies that I won. I get to actually look at those a little bit and see what I did. I never really sat back and thought of all my accomplishments, but I think it鈥檚 great that I got to do all that.鈥�
Several colleges pursued Hairston when he graduated from Connellsville in 2004, but he wound up attending Allegany Community College in Maryland for two years.
鈥淚t was a last-minute decision,鈥� Hairston explained. 鈥淚 had a couple looks out of high school. It wasn鈥檛 like I knew about Allegany, but Coach Bosnic knew more because he played at Maryland, he knew about it and by going there it gave me an opportunity to pull things together as far as my career.鈥�
In two seasons at Allegany CC Hairston averaged 14 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. And played on two outstanding teams.
鈥淚 think my freshman year at Allegany it was the best team that I ever played on,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淚 started at the point guard position there.鈥�
Hairston transferred to California University of Pennsylvania for his final two seasons. In 2006-07 the Vulcans posted a 24-7 record and Hairston averaged 8.6 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game. In 2007-08, the Vulcans finished 28-6 and Hairston averaged 9.4 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per game.
鈥淢y first year at Cal everybody that was recruited were JUCO players,鈥� Hairston recalled. 鈥淲e had an edge, we were experienced. I played the point at Cal and played a good all-around game. I did what I needed to do. I was a team player. Coach Bill Brown was a great influence, he is like a brother to me and I remain close to him to this day.鈥�
Hairston played two seasons with the semi-pro Pittsburgh Phantoms. He returned to school at California University of Pennsylvania. He is finishing up in criminal justice and wants to be a juvenile probation officer. He interned with the DA鈥檚 office in Uniontown and a juvenile counselor at Adelphoi Village in Connellsville.
Now 29, Hairston resides in Uniontown. He has a five year-old daughter, Brinly.
George Von Benko鈥檚 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in Monday editions of the 缅北禁地. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.