Entering his ninth year as head coach, Roy Williams has added two more McDonald’s All-Americans to the North Carolina roster.
Freshmen guard P.J. Hairston and forward James Michael McAdoo are the 16th and 17th McDonald’s All-Americans that Williams has recruited to Chapel Hill, eight of which are on this year’s team.
McAdoo didn’t just participate in the annual premier high school all-star showdown, he owned it.
McAdoo took home co-MVP honors with 17 points, and in much the same way he won the same honor at the Jordan Brand Classic with a double-double performance.
McAdoo, who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 220 pounds, became the youngest person to ever win the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year award in 2009 after averaging almost 17 points per game on the way to a gold medal in the FIBA Americas U16 championship.
”I’m expecting a lot from (the freshman) just because they’re very great players,” senior Tyler Zeller said. “James McAdoo and P.J. are fantastic players, and the rest of them can come in and give us some great minutes also. I think they’re going to be able to come in right off the bat and give us a great lift.”
Hairston, a 6-foot-5 wingman from Greensboro, split his high school career at Dudley and Hargrave Military Academy in Chatam, Va.
In his senior year at Hargrave, he averaged more than 25 points, nine boards and nearly five assists. So far this year, he’s caught the eye of some of the older guys on the team.
“We always thought he would be good, but he’s stretching the floor out a lot better than we thought,” Harrison Barnes said. “He’s making a lot of shots. That’ll help us a lot down the road in terms of penetration.”
In UNC’s 100-58 exhibition win against UNC-Pembroke on Oct. 28, Hairston lit up the court — making six of eight 3-pointers during his 16 minutes on the court.
