Flacusian
All Conference
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 3,511
- Like
- 7,688
With the season about to begin one of the things I'm thankful for is CJ Fair's decision to return for his senior year at Syracuse. Assuredly, without that decision, we aren't ranked in the top 10 preseason in some polls and more importantly, CJ provides the leadership and experience that this team, which is comprised of so many new faces and roles for people will need if we are to compete for a National Title.
Among the many things there are to like about CJ the fact that he has steadily improved and done everything he was called on to do while others enjoyed the spotlight all the while with a quiet, humble yet confident demeanor stands out the most for me. He's just a likeable young man and one who has now been given the task of being the player that is the face of the program.
Having any kid with his level of talent and ability stay in the program for 4 years is indeed rare in this day and age of "Get me to the NBA ASAP". CJ has been so efficient in doing what he does best that it's easy to underestimate his accomplishments in his first 3 seasons. Fair led Syracuse in scoring (14.5 points) and rebounding (7.0) last season. He was consistent throughout the season. He scored in double-figures in 33 of the Orange's 40 games. Fair took just 11.5 shots per game last season. In the last 10 years, no Syracuse player has scored more points while taking so few shots. I find those facts give us plenty of reason to be optimistic about CJ leading this team this coming season.
Certainly, with CJ now poised to be the "Go to guy" that the ESPN buffoons so often talk about, defenses will focus on him and make it more difficult for him to score than it has been in previous seasons. But CJ has worked hard this off season to hone his game and I feel confident that he is going to have a monster season and do all the things we need him to do to lead this team deep into March.
I know that as the season moves forward, I'll be grateful that CJ made the decision to come back for his senior year and give me reason to be so optimistic about this team. Thank you CJ!
Among the many things there are to like about CJ the fact that he has steadily improved and done everything he was called on to do while others enjoyed the spotlight all the while with a quiet, humble yet confident demeanor stands out the most for me. He's just a likeable young man and one who has now been given the task of being the player that is the face of the program.
Having any kid with his level of talent and ability stay in the program for 4 years is indeed rare in this day and age of "Get me to the NBA ASAP". CJ has been so efficient in doing what he does best that it's easy to underestimate his accomplishments in his first 3 seasons. Fair led Syracuse in scoring (14.5 points) and rebounding (7.0) last season. He was consistent throughout the season. He scored in double-figures in 33 of the Orange's 40 games. Fair took just 11.5 shots per game last season. In the last 10 years, no Syracuse player has scored more points while taking so few shots. I find those facts give us plenty of reason to be optimistic about CJ leading this team this coming season.
Certainly, with CJ now poised to be the "Go to guy" that the ESPN buffoons so often talk about, defenses will focus on him and make it more difficult for him to score than it has been in previous seasons. But CJ has worked hard this off season to hone his game and I feel confident that he is going to have a monster season and do all the things we need him to do to lead this team deep into March.
I know that as the season moves forward, I'll be grateful that CJ made the decision to come back for his senior year and give me reason to be so optimistic about this team. Thank you CJ!
