ACC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

20. C. J. Fair

Fair, a 6’8 forward from Baltimore, was a borderline Top 100 prospect that Jim Boeheim turned into another star while at Syracuse. He started his college career for the Orange way back in 2010 and helped take Syracuse to the Final Four during his junior season when they were still in the Big East. Today, we’re only really looking at his senior season and there’s enough there to warrant inclusion.

Fair averaged 16.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and put up the best scoring numbers of his career. He led Syracuse to an impressive 25-0 start to the season, with several great performances. He had 28 points in an overtime win against Duke and matched that total against Georgia Tech a few weeks later. He put up a pair of double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament, but the Orange were upset in the second round and couldn’t repeat the success of 2013.

An important frontcourt piece during his collegiate years, Fair was named a Second Team All-American and First Team All-ACC for that senior season that we detailed. He was one of Syracuse’s great player in the early 2010’s and was a vital piece of the program’s success during that time, emerging as a key scorer and defender in Syracuse’s first season in the ACC.