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Oregon freshman Malik Hairston, seen guarded by UCLA’s Arron Afflalo, did not receive a war

Though it was senior night for UCLA, an Oregon freshman captured the greatest attention from the crowd in Pauley Pavilion Saturday.

After the fans had their opportunity to cheer for Bruin seniors, they quickly turned their attention to Malik Hairston. The freshman guard, who was recruited heavily by UCLA, eventually left the Bruins hanging by committing to Oregon. That fact was not lost on the Bruin Den, as the student section tracked Hairston all night, booing him whenever he had the ball.

“Seemed like I was the crowd favorite out there tonight,” Hairston said. “I made the decision to come to Oregon, and I’m 100 percent happy with that decision.”

Though Oregon finished ninth in the conference after being picked by the media to finish fourth, and UCLA has experienced a resurgence this season, Hairston said he had no regrets whatsoever. He cited Oregon’s style of play, its coach, and its players as the major factors that influenced his choice.

“The atmosphere out here is beautiful, but it doesn’t sell itself,” Hairston said. “We (Oregon) might not have been as successful as we wanted to be this season, but we’re going to continue to work hard.”

Like the rest of his teammates, Hairston struggled against the Bruins, much to the screaming delight of UCLA fans. Early in the first half his driving layup attempt was stuffed by junior Michael Fey, leading to a rousing cheer from the Den. At his every missed shot and at every turnover, the student section took special pleasure at rubbing it in. Averaging 13.1 points and five rebounds per game entering the contest, he finished with just nine points on 3-for-8 shooting, one rebound, two turnovers and four fouls in 27 minutes of action.

During his first trip to the free throw line, the students began chanting “sellout, sellout,” and as UCLA’s lead swelled and the victory became more secure, the chants changed to “overrated, overrated.” Hairston made just two of his five free throw attempts.

Still, Hairston said that he respects the tradition at UCLA and remains on friendly terms with the Bruin freshmen.

“This is a very storied program, I’m pretty cool with some of the guys on this team, so I have nothing against UCLA at all,” Hairston said.

Freshman Arron Afflalo, who first met Hairston on the AAU circuit, recognized the strangeness of playing against someone who might have been his teammate.

“He would’ve helped us, definitely,” Afflalo said. “He’s a good guy to hang out with. He had a rough time with our crowd, but he’s a great competitor; you have to respect that.”