Syracuse Basketball: 2024 WNBA Draft scouting report on prolific guard Dyaisha Fair

Former Syracuse basketball guard Dyaisha Fair flew under the radar as one of the top players in women’s college basketball this past season. Fair has garnered praise from some of her peers who happen to be some of the most recognizable players in college basketball.

LSU’s star duo of Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson both acknowledged Fair as a player who deserved more recognition in women’s college basketball given her accomplishments.

Fair, a Rochester, N.Y., native, was named to the AP All-America third team and the All-ACC first team this past season. Fair also drew praise from UConn’s Paige Bueckers after their second-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament in which the Huskies won, 72-64.

Bueckers described Fair as “one heck of a player” and a “very tough cover.”

Here’s an in-depth scouting report on former Syracuse basketball guard Dyaisha Fair.

Strengths

Natural scorer
Despite her 5-foot-5 frame, she scored 3,403 career points and became Division I’s third all-time leading scorer behind only Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Plum. Fair has never averaged fewer than 19.9 points per game during her five seasons of college basketball. This past season, she averaged 22.3 points per contest, which ranked her 8th in the nation.

Fair is a microwave scorer who can get hot at any given moment. She uses crafty dribble moves combined with her lower center of gravity to create space and get her shots off. She also has a knack for using angles when a taller defender is matched up against her or when she’s surrounded by taller defenders.

Improved ball security
Early in Fair’s career, she was turnover prone averaging 4.1 per game during her freshman season at Buffalo. She gradually improved to just 2.8 during her sophomore year and then hovered around just 2.0 the past three seasons. Not only have her turnover numbers been cut nearly in half in terms of her averages, but the same could also be applied to her totals.

Improved outside shooter
Fair has never been shy about letting it fly which is evident in her shot attempts over the years. However, she struggled to make perimeter shots at an efficient rate during her first two seasons at Buffalo. Nonetheless, she gradually improved to 36 percent the past two seasons and ended her college career shooting a career-high 37 percent from behind the arc.

Disruptive defender
Not only does Fair use her lower center of gravity to her advantage offensively, but she also uses that to be a disruptive defender in the backcourt and on the perimeter. Although she wasn’t awarded for her defense this season, she earned All-Defensive honors in both the ACC and MAC Conferences in each of the last three seasons. She’s never averaged fewer than 2.1 steals per game and averaged 2.5 steals per game over her career at Buffalo and then Syracuse basketball. However, she could struggle initially as a defender in the WNBA given her size.

Area(s) of Concern

How will her game translate in the WNBA?
Fair experienced a taste of what she’ll face in the pros in her last game against the WNBA-level talent of the UConn Huskies. UConn guards Nika Muhl and Bueckers, who are both listed at 5-foot-11, used their size to harass Fair throughout their second-round matchup in Storrs. Although Fair managed to score 20 points, the UConn defense held her to 6-of-22 shooting. They also forced her into five turnovers.

As previously mentioned, she has a knack for using angles when facing taller defenders but how will that translate against the best of the best night-in and night-out?

She’s also struggled to score efficiently from the field throughout her five-year college career. She’s only shot 40 percent or better once in her career. On average, she shot a career 38 percent on overall field goals, which could scare some GMs away from drafting her.

A reduced role
Fair was one of the leading scorers in Division I this past season (22.3 points per game) and has taken on a lot of responsibility with the ball in her hands. However, a lot of players within her height range had to adjust to playing reduced roles in the WNBA such as Moriah Jefferson, Aari McDonald and Jordin Canada. In Fair’s case, she projects as a microwave scorer off the bench and could possibly win a Sixth Player of the Year award in the future if she buys into that role.

Draft outlook
Fair has been projected as a second-round pick in most 2024 WNBA Mock Drafts. However, ESPN’s Michael Voepel has Fair as a top-10 pick to the Connecticut Sun. In his description of her, he said, “it's a matter of if the Sun see her all-around skills as good enough, along with her ability to shoot.”

This doesn’t just apply to the Sun but to the other 11 teams in the WNBA that are considering taking a look past Fair’s size and using a selection on her. Fair is aiming to become the first Syracuse Orange player drafted in the WNBA since Brittney Sykes, who was the seventh overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft.

The 2024 WNBA Draft will commence on Monday, April 15, beginning at 7:30 pm EST on ESPN. The draft will be held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City.