P.J. Hairston Arrested
Tar Heel Illustrated learned Thursday morning that starting guard P.J. Hairston was pulled over and arrested late Wednesday night around 10:20pm.
Hairston was charged with possession of marijuana and driving without a driver's license. He was charged along with two other men in Durham at a checkpoint.
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ABC 11 Eyewitness News was the first to report the incident, and it was later confirmed Thursday morning by a UNC school official.
"Coach Williams and (athletic director) Bubba Cunningham are aware of a situation that took place last evening with P.J. Hairston," Tar Heels sports information director Steve Kirschner said. "We're currently looking into it to gather the facts. We will issue a statement when we have enough information to do so."
Sources have said that Hairston and Roy Williams have met and there could be a possibility that this matter will be handled internally.
No suspensions have been made public yet.
On Friday another ABC 11 report indicated that a handgun was found outside the vehicle at the time of the police stop. An investigation is underway to determine who the gun belongs to, either Hairston or one of his two passengers.
Last season Hairston stepped into the starting lineup for the Tar Heels at midseason, leading the team with 14.6 points a game and 89 three pointers, second in UNC history for a season.
He decided to come back to North Carolina for his junior season after briefly entertaining the idea of entering the NBA Draft.
Hairston was expected to be a starting wing on a 2013-2014 North Carolina team that could be ranked in the Top 10 or even Top 5 early in the season.
UNC also returns James Michael McAdoo and Marcus Paige to a team that won 25 games last year and reached the ACC Tournament Championship Game and Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
Furthermore, Hairston was invited on Monday to compete with some of the best amateurs in the nation for a spot on the 2013 USA Basketball World University Games team.
Certainly more will come of the story, so check back with Tar Heel Illustrated for updates on the matter.