Syracuse considers Rochester 'home base' in basketball event at Blue Cross Arena

ROCHESTER — No Syracuse basketball player could have appreciated playing for Blue Cross Arena's crowd more than 585's own Dyaisha Fair and Saniaa Wilson.

Fair and Wilson were the center of Saturday night's "Monroe Madness", where the Syracuse University men's and women's basketball programs spent two hours participating in fun and games. Fair's and Wilson's family and friends were among those in attendance of the Orange's pep rally vibe event.

A former star at Edison Tech, Fair has since placed her name alongside Rochester's most renowned basketball players. She's stamped an All-America and NCAA Tournament appearances to her resume, and wants build a relationship with her community as her stock continues to rise.

"It means the world to come back," Fair said. "People know about me now. To see the younger kids coming up that aspire to be like me, if not better, it means the world to me."

Syracuse coach Adrian Autry, who replaced Jim Boeheim to run the men's basketball program, also received a warm ovation before Benny Williams and Quadir Copeland's rattling dunks topped the night of highlights. Section V's basketball talent is no secret to Autry, who considers the Rochester area "home base" for recruiting.

"I think it's a lot of talent in this area, and any chance we get a chance to give back and have a presence, I think it helps to have a Syracuse here. ... Us coming here is a big plus so that they understand that, hey, Syracuse is not that far. This is considered home base for us as well."

Dyaisha Fair the fan favorite

Fair was a crowd favorite Saturday.

The senior point guard's hypnotic handles and a hair trigger jump shot were on full display. Fair was all net during the 3-point contest on 11 of 15 shooting. Her long range barrage extended into the scrimmage. The crowd erupted when Fair danced into a step back trey in the first half.

Fair, an All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year and 2010-19 AGR Team of the Decade member, concluded the night tossing t-shirts and taking photos with anyone who asked. She averaged 19.9 points and led the Atlantic Coast Conference in steals last year.

Another breakout season may be on the horizon after Fair played on USA Basketball's 3-on-3 U23 basketball team in the offseason, and her addition to the Lieberman Award Watch List, which features America's best guards like Iowa's Caitlin Clark.

"I want to be a better leader," Fair said. "I want to be able to lead on and off the floor, and I want to lead the team to success. That's the biggest thing that I'm focused on this year, and being able to lead a team and take a team to new heights."

Wilson judged the dunk contest, which was the night's spectacle. A Section V champion at Bishop Kearney, Wilson was in a walking boot and did not play Saturday. But the junior is poised for a breakout campaign when she become healthy after appearing in 27 games last season.

Wilson is one of Rochester's best as an All-Decade Team member and AGR Co-Player of the Year. She previously attended UB before transferring with Fair when coach Felisha Legette-Jack was hired. Legette-Jack underwent a recent medical procedure and was not in attendance Saturday.

Kyra Wood, a junior from Buffalo, is another of the Orange's Western New York connections.

Syracuse dunk contest

Copeland nearly brought the house down with a thunderous "Eastbay Funk" dunk.

But since Copeland didn't complete the dunk, Williams won the contest's tiebreaker after the pair each scored 50 on their final round dunks.

Syracuse centers Naheem McLeod, a 7-foot-4 junior, and William Patterson, and 7-foot-2 freshman, each threw down a two-handed jam of their own during the scrimmage. Chris Bell and JJ Starling — a Central New York star who transferred from Notre Dame — showed out during the scrimmage.

It was an eventful week for Syracuse. "Monroe Madness" was a crowd pleaser and essential in the Orange's Rochester outreach efforts. The event was icing on the cake following an official visit from Carmelo Anthony's son, Kiyan, who graduates high school in 2025. Autry did not comment on Kiyan Anthony, but he did talk about what his 2023-24 roster is capable of.

"We'll see a faster paced game," Autry said. "We want to push pace. We want to get up and down. We want to play an exciting brand of basketball. We want to try to put it all together and use our depth and try to really get into teams' legs into that second half and try to open the game up."

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Syracuse basketball considers Rochester 'home base' at Monroe Madness