CJ Hairston has big goals for his basketball career and plans on leaving Michigan in the pursuit those hoops dreams.
The Royal Oak junior plans on transferring to Hargrave Military Academy, a basketball-focused prep school in Virginia. Hairston will live away from home for the first time in his life as he works toward his ultimate goal of playing at the next level.
“My goal is to go to school for free,” Hairston said, “so my parents won’t have to pay for anything.”
Hairston believes Hargrave will be the perfect place for him to get stronger and improve his skills. The program boasts national success with an NBA alumni list including Terry Rozier, Naji Marshall, Marreese Speights and Montrezl Harrell.
Hairston will have a much different day-to-day experience than he did as a student at Royal Oak, with a much heavier focus on basketball and training.
“I won’t have as many classes, and I will be working out more than at a regular school,” Hairston said. “My day will be totally different, and I won’t have my parents around. I’m gonna be by myself.”
Hairston is making the transition from the Michigan high school ranks after helping Royal Oak achieve its most playoff success in the boys basketball program’s history. The Ravens won the first district title in school history in February. Hairston lead the way with 27 points in the district win over Troy and 28 in the regional semifinal loss to L’anse Creuse North.
For the season, Hairston averaged 21 points per game. The junior guard set Royal Oak program records for total points in a season (467) and broke his own school record with 78 made 3’s.
Hairston missed four games mid-season with a concussion. His absence came during a 10-game losing streak for Royal Oak, but he and Sam Zeller, the team’s second-leading scorer, turned it around late in the season entering the playoffs.
“I think it’s the absolute best decision that he could have made,” said former Royal Oak coach Aaron Smith, who stepped down from the role after the season. “Of course, I would have loved him to stay at Royal Oak just for the sake of Royal Oak, but you are talking about a kid who has big aspirations. It’s a perfect fit.”
Hairston consulted with Smith before reaching a decision. Smith stepped down from coaching Royal Oak after 11 seasons in search of a “new potential” challenge in coaching. Smith’s departure played a role in Hairston’s decision to transfer because of their tight relationship dating back the last half-decade.
“I just told him to keep doing what he’s doing,” Smith said. “Because from ninth grade to now, it is working. The work is working. So keep the main thing the main thing and just trust your heart.”
Hairston is the first player this summer to publicly announce his intentions to transfer to an out-of-state basketball prep academy. Last year, Carlos Medlock Jr. (Michigan State), Jordan Sigmon (Western Michigan) and Mateen Cleaves Jr. were a few of the players to head to an academy after starting in Michigan.
He said he looked at some potential transfer options in-state, but felt Hargrave was the perfect fit for him.
“I was looking at schools in-state, but I didn’t really know what school to go to,” Hairston said. “I talked to a few coaches, but none of them felt like the right fit. I was looking for the right fit, and it ended up being this prep school.”
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Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Royal Oak star C.J. Hairston is going elsewhere to chase his dream
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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