Hairston attended Atkins High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played college basketball for coach Lou Rossini at New York University from 1962 to 1964 where he graduated. One of his teammates was Barry Kramer. The two smashed almost every record for the NYU Violets. Hairston averaged 21 pts per game led NYU on all time rebounding and totalled 1350 pts\n', 'in his college career for which he was inducted into NYU hall of fame in 1981. Drafted by Now defunct Cincinnati Royals, he played professionally for the Cincinnati Royals and Detroit Pistons before joining the Lakers in 1969.\n', '

In 1971-72, Hairston grabbed 1,045 rebounds; his teammate Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 1,572. Hairston astoundingly led the Lakers in both rebounds and field goal percentage during the 1973–74 and 1974-75 seasons, and set an NBA record for most defensive rebounds in a quarter with 13 (vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, November 15, 1974).\n', '

During his 11 seasons in the NBA, Hairston averaged 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.\n', '

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