This news just in after prep phenom Malik Hairston declared his
intentions to attend Oregon:
Oregon has sent out its list of classes now so that Hairston
can begin deciding on classes in the hopes he’ll be ready to
announce his class list by next February. This way, Oregon can
account for the “Malik Indecision Period,” or the
M.I.P. ““ a period of about nine months.
You see, UCLA has waited since last September to hear whether
the McDonald’s All-American wing would be coming to Westwood.
There were postponements and deferrals on decision deadlines and
plenty of rumors on the adding and cutting to his perspective
colleges list.
And while you can’t say he didn’t take his time
making his decision, you have to wonder how he chose Oregon.
For the Ducks, the M.I.P. was only three weeks, as the Ducks got
into the game late. It seemed as if the only reason he even visited
the Ducks was because his dad pushed him.
Everything that Hairston said was important to him in the past
few months can be thrown out the window.
A school with basketball tradition? UCLA and Kansas have just as
much history as any programs in the country.
A coach with whom he is familiar? Ohio State and UCLA have been
with him the longest.
Immediate chance to “Carmelo-ize” the situation and
leave for the NBA after one year? Quite possibly Kansas and maybe
Michigan, but definitely not Oregon.
Maybe he just really wants to play in highlighter-neon-yellow
uniforms.
The frustrating thing for UCLA fans hoping he would come to
Westwood has to be that he’s spent close to nine months on a
decision that smacks of being made too hastily.
Still, Eugene, Ore. does have its good features. He’ll be
a big fish in a small pond; he’ll have his own plasma LCD
flatscreen in his locker (fully furnished with XBox and DVD
player), and most importantly, it’s not Corvallis. And it
couldn’t hurt that Oregon is a NIKE school, and his Amateur
Athletic Union team is coincidentally NIKE-affiliated.
To Oregon coach Ernie Kent’s credit, he made the trip out
to Detroit and didn’t leave without securing a visit from the
Hairstons.
Suddenly, the Ducks have a solid young nucleus that should stay
intact for two years ““ with Aaron Brooks, Bryce Taylor,
Maarty Leunen and Hairston.
Which is why Hairston committing to Oregon may not be such a bad
thing for Bruin fans. It should be the beginning of a beautiful
rivalry.
You thought the Bruin Den hated Arizona’s Hassan Adams?
Can you imagine the profanities spewing forth when Oregon visits
Pauley Pavilion?
It also appears that, at most, he would have stuck around for
two years, or a little over two M.I.P.s.
I mean, come on, one of his categories in his actual scoring
scale was, “Best opportunity to go to NBA after two
years.”
Furthermore, wing isn’t even close to UCLA’s biggest
area of need. With Hairston, three of the following would have to
sit ““ Cedric Bozeman, Dijon Thompson, Brian Morrison,
Hairston, Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar. The Bruins have a
greater need for a post recruit, such as prospective Jayhawks
transfer David Padgett, for whom UCLA will also have to battle to
attain.
Still, any Bruin fan saying that UCLA is better off without
Hairston is in denial.
As it is, the rebuilding process figures to be prolonged.
Securing Hairston would have had a trickle effect, and UCLA’s
potential return to the top would have been sped up. He would have
had an immediate impact on future recruiting. What post recruit
wouldn’t want to come play for a backcourt that featured
Farmar, Afflalo and Hairston?
Though UCLA won’t exactly be the preseason Pac-10
favorites, the Bruins will still be fine.
So, to Hairston, good luck and farewell ““ we barely knew
you.
But fair warning, UCLA fans will have March 5, 2005 — the first
time Hairston visits Pauley Pavilion — circled on their
calendars.
To translate, that’s about one M.I.P. away.
Tran can now finally get some sleep and stop looking for
Hairston updates on the Internet. E-mail him at
btran@media.ucla.edu.