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The Daily Tar Heel

P.J. Hairston involved in gym altercation

P.J. Hairston was a former guard for the UNC men's basketball team.

P.J. Hairston was a former guard for the UNC men's basketball team.

Just 10 days after he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 26th pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, former North Carolina guard P.J. Hairston was involved in a minor altercation at a Durham YMCA Sunday. 

Hairston's agent Juan Morrow confirmed to Yahoo Sports that Hairston punched rising Northern High School senior Kentrell Barkley in the face during a pickup game at the YMCA. Morrow told Yahoo Sports Barkley threw the first punch. 

But Barkley turned to his Twitter account Sunday night to refute Morrow’s claim. 

“I want to make this clear,” he tweeted at 10:20 p.m. on Sunday. “I DID NOT HIT PJ OR THROW ANY PUNCHES!”

The Hornets have acknowledged the incident.

"The organization is aware of an incident this afternoon involving P.J. Hairston," the team said in a statement Sunday. "We are in the process of gathering additional information and will have no further comment at this time."

The 6-foot-6 guard led North Carolina in scoring his sophomore year with 14.6 points per game before legal trouble kept him from suiting up his junior season.

Hairston was charged with driving without a license and marijuana possession on June 5 of last year, and received a reckless driving charge two-and-a-half months later on Aug. 18.

Coach Roy Williams indefinitely suspended Hairston after the reckless driving charge, and UNC ultimately did not ask the NCAA to reinstate Hairston.

Hairston then left for the NBA Development League and played with the Texas Legends, averaging 21.8 points per game before the Hornets drafted him.

Contact the desk editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.

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