Hairston Selects Oregon

Detroit Renaissance basketball star Malik Hairston has ended the long, drawn-out sage of his recruitment, announcing his commitment to Ernie Kent and the Oregon Ducks at a press conference just moments ago.

Hairston -- the Ohio State coaching staff's top priority for many months -- had kept onlookers largely in the dark for much of the past year about his preference of schools before eliminating such contenders as OSU, Michigan, Oklahoma and UCLA last night.

That left Kansas and Oregon as the two remaining suitors, with many assuming he would head to the tradition-rich Jayhawks as opposed to the Ducks, whose campus he visited without his father, Richard.

BuckeyeSports.com reported last night that a source indicated Hairston's eventual decision would be for Oregon, though that seemed an unlikely destination.

But Hairston surprised virtually all with his announcement today, although the presence of Nike headquarters and a popular African-American coach in Kent must surely have helped matters.

OSU will now decide how to allot its final remaining scholarship, either banking it for next season or awarding it to sophomore-to-be Nick Dials for this season.