C.J. Fair could be in the NBA right now. He could’ve been a first-round pick and maybe even a lottery choice.

He still probably will be after this year and he has the preseason accolades to show for it. On Tuesday, he was one of 15 players named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list.

But he had things to work on. He had to become a better dribbler. A better passer. A better creator.

“His shooting’s gotten better, his ballhandling’s gotten better,” fellow forward Jerami Grant said. “You can tell he’s been working in the offseason and it’s definitely a plus for us.”

For a brief spurt during Syracuse’s preseason finale against Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) school Ryerson University, Fair executed his new skills to perfection and exhibited the all-around play that was so hyped up during the offseason — this time in an 81-46 win over the Rams.

Fair logged 18 points, six rebounds, two blocks and one assist in the Orange’s win over its more challenging preseason opponent, but his most impressive stretch came to cap a 12-0 SU run.

Fair beat a defender off the dribble to knock down a runner with less than five minutes to play in the first half. He helped create a Ryerson turnover before spinning around a defender for another floater. He ended the Rams’ next possession with a block in the post.

Fair said he felt a bit hesitant at times, especially at the arc. Syracuse wanted to get its big men more involved, so he didn’t shoot some 3s that he normally would have.

“Down the line I might shoot it,” Fair said.

Even on a day he couldn’t get too excited about, he was dominant. Fair is the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason Player of the Year and Ryerson just a 6-4 team in the CIS.

“We know we have the preseason ACC Player of the Year on the team, so we’re definitely going to use him to our advantage,” Grant said. “Whatever he does we feed off his energy and that’s how we’re going to play for the rest of the year.”

Against Division II Holy Family (Pa.) University, Fair’s buckets came when the game was out of reach. He had just two points before the break. Against Ryerson, just three came after it.

“I felt better,” Fair said. “I was being active and I felt myself being in the right position at the right time, so I think if I be aggressive and I be active that’s the way I want to play.”

Tuesday’s contest started as a sloppy, disjointed game that Fair singlehandedly turned into a clinic during the first half.

Fair hit a pair of mid-range jumpers to help SU build an early lead and sunk a wide-open 3-pointer from the wing to spark a 16-5 start. He has developed a signature shot that would have been impossible for him to lean on a year ago.

The forward sets up on the elbow with a defender draped over him. He uses a pump fake to knock his defender off balance and takes a couple of dribbles — he doesn’t need more than two or three — to find some space. Then he elevates toward the rim and gently tosses the ball into the cylinder.

“He’s been doing it for the last couple years I’ve been around,” Grant said, “so that’s definitely one of his favorite moves.”

By the time Fair canned his 3-pointer, the conclusion was foregone. The lead was only nine when Fair left the court, but Ryerson wasn’t going to rally.

Syracuse began piecing together its 12-0 run with Fair watching from the sideline. Backup forwards Grant, B.J. Johnson and Tyler Roberson took the burden on the wings until Fair returned for his back-to-back jumpers. The senior contributed in nearly every category.

And when he took the ball in the left corner as time wound down in the first half, he did the only thing he had yet to.

He took a dribble down the baseline toward the rim and dropped a bounce pass off into the paint. Rakeem Christmas was right there to pick up the ball and lay it in. Once again, Fair was the creator, but this time it was for a teammate.

“He’s going to play. He’s going to do what he does,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “I don’t like to worry about things I don’t have to worry about.”

Published on November 5, 2013 at 9:06 pm

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2