Into the Hall: James Hairston
James Hairston received a phone call from a number he didn鈥檛 recognize and was skeptical.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really know the number that was calling me,鈥� said Hairston, who decided not to answer.
The number was from Fayette County Hall of Fame co-founder George Von Benko informing him he had been chosen as an inductee for the Class of 2025.
鈥淲hen I finally got the voice message it was saying that I was in,鈥� Hairston recalled. 鈥淲hen I got it I was kind of shocked and didn鈥檛 really believe it until I called back.鈥�
Von Benko confirmed upon the return call that Hairston was indeed chosen for induction.
鈥淚t was pretty cool,鈥� Hairston said while talking to Von Benko on his 缅北禁地 Line Talk Show on WMBS Radio recently.
Hairton will be inducted with his class on Friday, June 20 at Pleasant Valley Golf Club.
He certainly has Hall of Fame credentials.
Hairston was a four-year starter in boys basketball at Connellsville where he went on to become Fayette County鈥檚 all-time leading scorer with 2,245 points, a record that still stands today.
He led the Falcons to the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals in 2003 and to the championship game in 2004, where they fell to Chartiers Valley.
Hairtson went on to play in college at Allegany County Community College in Maryland and then at California University of Pa. where he was a starting guard on the Vulcans鈥� 2008 PSAC championship team which went to reach the NCAA Division-II Elite Eight.
Hairston is well aware of Fayette County鈥檚 impressive basketball history.
鈥淛ust thinking about all the athletes in general that Fayette County has, it is special,鈥� said Hairston, who never set out to break any records. 鈥淚 told a buddy of mine I was just playing basketball. I wasn鈥檛 thinking about the accolades and all the things that come with it. So it鈥檚 pretty cool to receive something like this around your area.
鈥淭here are a lot of guys that were talented that are from here. Even the younger guys after me that came up, like (Rodney) Gallagher.鈥�
Hairston was happy to have a chance to reflect on his basketball days.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 get a chance to talk to a lot of my colleagues anymore, people that I played with,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淪o when stuff comes up and I get to talk about it or I get to receive something it is kind of special now to think about it when you鈥檙e older.鈥�
Hairston is part of a very athletic family tree that includes, as he noted, his uncle, Larry 鈥淭he Hawk鈥� McCargo, who was an all-time great in football and basketball at Connellsville.
鈥淭he Hawkster,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淭hey told me we always had athletes in the family. I think coming up that was something that was just in us, that we just had talent.鈥�
Hairtson used hard work to get the most out of that talent and stepped into Connellsville鈥檚 starting lineup as a freshman. He reflected on his years with the Falcons.
鈥淥ur first couple seasons we were just getting adjusted and I was still fairly young,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淎s a freshman I did OK but I was just kind of thrown in the fire, not knowing how big my role was. That year was OK. My sophomore year I got better. Then my junior and senior year we just started rolling.鈥�
Hairston enjoyed his time at Connellsville under former Laurel Highlands great Nick Bosnic, who went on to play at Maryland and Duquesne in college, at Connellsville.
Hairston wasn鈥檛 completely aware of Bosnic鈥檚 exploits on the hardwood when he took over as coach of the Falcons before his sophomore season.
鈥淲hat so crazy about that is I didn鈥檛 get to watch him growing up. I heard about him, heard about him, heard about him and never got to see him play,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淗im coaching me was a blessing. To go back and watch his stuff and highlights, he played against anybody you could imagine that played in the NBA. It鈥檚 pretty cool to think about it now.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 understand when he was there. I didn鈥檛 know actually how tremendous and big he was when he played. I wish I would鈥檝e went a little more into his history. But he didn鈥檛 really care. He did not ever talk about himself. He did not mention that he played for Maryland, nothing. He wanted to coach. That was the good thing about him, too.鈥�
Hairston had honed his skills against stiff competition before playing for Connellsville
鈥淧rior to that I played a lot of AAU basketball and got to play against and with a lot of people,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淎 good friend of mine, Darrelle Revis, was on my AAU team, the Pittsburgh JOTS.鈥�
Revis went on to become a great two-sport star at Aliquippa and an all-time great in football at Pitt and in the NFL and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
With Hairston leading the way, Connellsville went 24-4 during the 2002-03 season, won a section championship and defeated Norwin, 46-41 in overtime, and Mt. Lebanon, 53-49, before falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Penn Hills, 59-50, in the WPIAL playoffs as the seventh seed. The Falcons lost to Taylor Allderdice in the first round of the PIAA tournament.
During Hairston鈥檚 senior season of 2003-04, Connellsville went 26-4, won another section title and advanced to the WPIAL championship game as the third seed where it lost to Chartiers Valley, 57-47. The Falcons defeated Kiski, 66-47, Penn Hills, 50-48, and Central Catholic, 54-50 along the way.
鈥淚t was good to get there. That was one of the games I really wanted to win, especially for a championship, obviously,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淚t was the first time our guys even touched that type of stage, first time our team had got there in a while. To lose was bittersweet. I鈥檝e still got it on tape. I鈥檒l watch it here and there. I鈥檒l pop it in and sit back and watch it.鈥�
In the state tournament, the Falcons knocked off Latrobe but fell in a tight rematch with Penn Hills in the second round, 55-54.
鈥淧enn Hills ended up winning the states,鈥� Hairston pointed out. 鈥淲e beat them the first time then we played them again and lost to them. We were thinking, dang, if we鈥檇 beaten them again we would鈥檝e made a nice run in the states, too.鈥�
Hairston racked up a slew of honors during his high school career.
He was voted to the all-section team three times, was a two-time WPIAL All-Star, made the Post-Gazette Fabulous Five twice and was second team all-state twice.
鈥淛ust playing, not trying to capture anything at that moment in time, just trying to help my team win,鈥� was how Hairston explained his high school career. 鈥淪hout out to our coaches because we were a defensive team and defense wins games.鈥�
Still, Hairston rang up enough points to set the county record.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to be mentioned, there鈥檚 so many athletes, great players that came out of Fayette County,鈥� Hairston said of the scoring mark. 鈥淚 probably would stand out the most just because basketball wasn鈥檛 a Connellsville town. Back in the day we were a big football team, and wrestling and baseball. So my years I got basketball on the map a little bit.鈥�
Hairston, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, began his college career playing for two years at Allegany County Community College.
鈥淲e were really good, one of the two best teams I ever played on,鈥� Hairston said of his time at Allegany. 鈥淚 got experience that I needed also. Maryland actually recruits from there.鈥�
Hairston left Allegany to play two years at California University of Pa. under coach Mike Brown. He played in 64 of 65 games while with the Vulcans, including 61 starts for a team that went a combined 52-13.
Hairston wasn鈥檛 the high-profile scorer in college that he was in high school but contributed to California in many other ways.
Cal went 24-7 during Hairston鈥檚 junior year when he averaged 8.5 points per game and was second on the team in assists, steals and blocked shots.
鈥淲hen I first got to Cal my junior year we had all transfers,鈥� Hairston noted. 鈥淎bout four or five of us came in as two-year JUCOs. So we were already experienced coming into California and we had a lot of vets that were there already.鈥�
The Vulcans were even better during Hairston鈥檚 senior season when they went 28-6. Cal tied for first place in the PSAC West at 11-1, then knocked off Clarion, 82-66, Cheyney, 66-59, and Edinboro, which had beaten them in the regular-season finale to earn a share of the division title, 73-65, to claim the PSAC tournament championship.
California advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament and reached the Elite Eight by taking out Queens, 75-54, Alderson Broaddus, 72-57, and Millersville, 64-52. The Vulcans lost to Alaska Anchorage in the national quarterfinals, 55-52.
Hairston averaged 9.5 points per game his senior year and also led Cal in steals and was second in blocked shots.
Hairston continued playing basketball after college.
鈥淚 played two seasons of semi-pro basketball with the Pittsburgh Phantoms,鈥� Hairston said. 鈥淚t was pretty interesting, a nice traveling league.鈥�
As for now, Hairston said, 鈥淚鈥檓 working and I help coach basketball at Connellsville, and me and Bosnic do his camps in the summertime also.鈥�
Hall of Fame festivities will be held on June 20 beginning with the annual golf outing at 8:30 a.m. followed by the luncheon and inductions at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville. Golfers can register and luncheon tickets can be purchased by contacting Katie Propes by phone (724-415-2211) or email (kpropes@occluss.com).