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comparisons to Brittney Griner are few and far between. A special set of qualifications is necessary to have your name thrown in among the legends of women’s basketball. Forty-three years into the program’s history, Syracuse finally has a player who possesses a similar aura to someone like Griner — and still flies well under the radar.
Dyaisha Fair surpassed Griner and moved into fifth place in the all-time scoring list on Feb. 25. She currently totals 3,328 points, dropping 22.2 per game across five years. Not only that, but Fair has catalyzed SU’s dramatic turnaround from the gutters of turmoil to bonafide contenders within a stacked Atlantic Coast Conference.
Case closed — she’s cemented legend status. Yet Fair is rarely discussed on a national stage. It’s nothing new to Fair — the 5-foot-5 guard has been overlooked since she was a recruit — though you’d expect more attention for the player who Felisha Legette-Jack believes is SU’s greatest of all time.
“One thing I know to be true is that life isn’t fair,” Legette-Jack said on Feb. 11 when asked about the coverage Fair receives. “If nobody else know what she’s doing…I see it.”
In a rapidly growing sport, Fair has become the most ignored star in women’s college basketball. The national spotlight often gravitates toward Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, USC’s Juju Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo — and for good reason — but what Fair has accomplished is unprecedented. Unlike the others, who were highly-touted recruits, Fair has gone from an undesirable prospect to spearheading a program to one of its best seasons ever.
While Fair has undeniable prowess as an individual, she lacks a postseason resume as her career is coming to a close. With Syracuse primed for an NCAA Tournament return, there hasn’t been a better time for her to explode. Fair will solidify her legacy in March and finally earn a spot in the national conversation.
“I do deserve to be covered more nationally…I feel like I’m the underdog. I’m underrated,” Fair said on March 3. “I take it as motivation with life itself.”
Dyaisha Fair has put together a historic 2023-24 campaign, highlighted by breaking the 3,000 points mark on Jan. 14 against Clemson. Joe Zhao | Asst. Photo Editor
Central and western New Yorkers know the story. Fair was considered too small to play for most Division I teams out of Edison Tech High School (Rochester). Legette-Jack was one of few who believed, and she’s reaped the benefits at the University at Buffalo and Syracuse.
Under Legette-Jack’s guidance, Fair progressed from dominating mid-majors to being one of the most lethal, unabating threats in the country. Top five all-time in 3-pointers made. Top three in games played. Buffalo’s captain en route to a 2022 Mid-American Conference title. And the marshal behind SU tying its regular-season win record this year (23).
She has all the makings of a media darling. Who couldn’t get behind an athlete who defies the limitations of short stature while lighting up arenas around the nation with ruthless offense?
But you won’t find much of Fair through a simple scroll of espnW’s Instagram account — the company’s main source for women’s athletic content. Instead, it’s predominantly a mix of Clark, Watkins, Hidalgo and LSU gymnastics, spurred by TikTok star Livvy Dunne. Stars like them are significant faces of women’s sports and must continue to be highlighted in great detail. Yet, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for Fair.
Yes, Fair still earns posts here and there, usually when she breaks a record. Though a 31-point performance against then-No. 15 Florida State wasn’t big enough for espnW to create a post. It only offered a repost from the ACC Network.
Even when SB Nation displayed an Instagram graphic on March 3 of Clark breaking the overall college basketball scoring record, the site seemingly omitted Fair from the list despite her accumulating more points than each of the final three names on the post.
Clark and Hidalgo were both five stars. They were supposed to be here. Fair, though, is someone who built her legacy from the ground up and can be a role model for those who look to emulate her by defying the odds. But Fair can’t do that without immense coverage.
Fair’s modest Instagram following of just over 9,000 is dwarfed by Clark’s 1 million. There are a few ball-centric differences between the two that can explain the discrepancy. Clark is a four-year player — her numbers are held in higher regard than a fifth-year in Fair — Iowa is ranked higher than Syracuse and Clark’s statistics are gaudier than Fair’s.
Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director
At the same time, Fair’s longevity makes her career comparable to arguably the greatest women’s basketball player ever. The adjustment from running the point in a mid-major conference to the ACC is steep. Yet Fair transitioned seamlessly.
She dropped 19.9 points per game in her first season in the Power Six. Dazzling displays from beyond the arc, including a 36-point outburst with eight 3s versus Virginia and seven 3-pointers against Pitt, established Fair as one of the country’s premier long-range assassins. And it was merely a preview.
Fair has brought her game to the next level in 2023-24, earning All-ACC First Team honors. She averaged 22 points and 3.62 3-pointers per game in the regular season. She led Syracuse to its best finish in the ACC (third place) since 2015-16 despite being picked in the preseason to place ninth. Fair’s been nearly as impactful as Clark is to her respective team, especially through her fourth-quarter heroics.
Fourteen in the fourth to spur a 19-point comeback over Clemson. Three fourth-quarter 3s, part of a program-record nine, to lead a come-from-behind win over then-No. 15 FSU. Fourteen and then eight in the fourth to carry SU past Hidalgo’s Notre Dame twice. Fair has proven she’s the epitome of a primetime player — a quality tailor-made for March.
“When the spotlight hits her, it’s going to show everybody what’s going to happen for her,” SU guard Alaina Rice said of Fair. “When it’s time to show up, she will.”
It may have been overzealous to call Syracuse the team to beat in the ACC. Fair, though, gives the Orange an edge against the nation’s top programs. Before her ensuing move to the professional ranks, Fair has had limited opportunities to entrench herself in the national narrative of women’s sports.
Fair may not lead SU to an ACC title or a National Championship. Regardless, March is where she can become immortal. Once Syracuse’s maestro conducts her final orchestra, the audience will have no choice but to bestow Fair with her long-deserved flowers.
Cooper Andrews is the Sports Editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at ccandrew@syr.edu or on X @cooper_andrews.
Photograph taken by Sadie Jones | Staff Photographer
Published on March 7, 2024 at 1:36 am
