City's C.J. Fair back in action

As C.J. Fair slithered through the Washington defense to score two of his 15 points during last month's I-95 Elite Challenge at St. Frances, enthusiasm erupted from the Baltimore supporters.

"That's smoooooooooth C.J. Fair!" proclaimed Troy Franklin, a longtime Baltimore Stars official and the public address announcer for the evening's events. "He's so smooooooth!"

With that excited declaration, Fair was officially back. The Syracuse small forward commitment tore his ACL last spring and was forced to sit out his entire junior season, watching from the bench as City won the Class 2A state championship. While Knights coach Mike Daniel said Fair was like "one of my assistant coaches", the 6-foot-7, 200-pounder had trouble watching instead of participating.

"It was tough," Fair said. "It was just walking down the court and having to sit down and watch the other team warm up. During the game it was hard watching. But then ... halfway through the season I got used to it. I wanted them to be the best they could be, even though I wasn't out there."

Fair first stepped on the court about two weeks after City's high school season ended. His first game back was with his AAU team, Nike Baltimore Elite, at the Boo Williams Invitational in Virginia in April. The I-95 Elite Challenge was a homecoming of sorts that punctuated his return to basketball.

"I was pretty antsy to get back," Fair said. "Even though in my first game I didn't look so good, I was just happy to be back on the court. ... I'm not going to say I'm back where I was at, but I'm close to it. I'm still working at it ... and trying to get back in the groove."

Fair's play on the spring AAU circuit has earned him invites to the Vince Carter Skills Academy in Orlando and the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio. First up for Fair is the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Va. The camp, which will feature six players from Baltimore, is scheduled for June 17-21 at the University of Virginia. Fair said he's excited to take the court with his fellow Charm City natives.

"People are saying we've got one of the best classes in a while," Fair said of Baltimore's 2010 group. "We were close all the time [growing up]. "Me, Will Barton, and his brother Antonio Barton, we all grew up playing together. We were playing with each other since we were 8 years old. Josh Selby, he played with us. Roscoe Smith, I've played a few years with him in AAU. And Jordan Latham, he goes to City. He's always been around. ... [So] we all stick together and hang around each other."

Throughout his injury rehab, Fair and his father stayed in close contact with the Syracuse staff. Fair said "a lot of schools did back off" when he first tore his ACL, but the Orange remained persistent in their pursuit. The Syracuse coaches haven't seen Fair in action this spring because the live period doesn't start until July.

"They just [want to] look at my mobility," Fair said. "They think the skills are going to stay there; they just want to see how my confidence is with my knee. ... My confidence grows each time I go on the court."