P.J. Hairston has had a bit of an odd ride in the basketball world. After a breakout sophomore season with North Carolina in 2012-13, he seemed on the verge of becoming a star for the Tar Heels when he got caught up in possible NCAA violations. A very eventful summer eventually led to him being suspended and the saga concluded with UNC deciding to not seek his reinstatement. After a stint in the G League, he still ended up being selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft, but only played three seasons in the NBA and a bit more in the G League.
A couple days ago, Hairston was announced as an assistant coach for the Capital Seahawks of the 94×50 League, a new minor league in the basketball world. Despite the needlessly complicated name, the 94×50 League isn’t some weird Big 3 type invention, it’s an attempt at a legitimate minor league basketball. The name is referencing the dimensions of a court. The Capital Seahawks are a team set to play in Bowie, Maryland on the campus of Bowie State, in the greater Washington DC area.
Most teams in the league are generally in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic area, with the lone exception of a team in San Diego. Plenty of attempts at these type of low level leagues have gone belly up in the past, and several of the the eight teams in this attempt have already defected from another attempt at creating a third level league like this. It can be tough sledding for teams to make it work, and we shall see how this attempt ends up turning out.
The teams of the league are all generally playing in smaller college gyms, so this league is still quite a ways off from even the likes of the G League. However, everyone has to start somewhere. For Hairston, it’s been quite the journey since his playing career in Chapel Hill. I certainly wish him the best of luck with the Seahawks and any future stops in his coaching journey.