Did David Aldridge Just Casually Ruin Everyone's Day? (UPDATE: Maybe Not)

UPDATE 1: Couple folks saying that Aldridge's article must be a typo and that he meant to say Fair has NOT declared for the draft or he's confusing Fair with C.J. Leslie. Reading the context, it's entirely possible.

UPDATE 2: Sports Illustrated's Busting Brackets blog is saying Fair is staying for his senior season. So either somebody's wrong or somebody made a boo-boo.

UPDATE 3: Mike Waters reports that, as of this moment, C.J. remains unsure of his decision.

The source said that as recently as last week Fair was ready to give up his final year of eligibility and enter the NBA Draft. However, after visiting with his family in Baltimore, Md., over the weekend, Fair had reversed his thinking. He would return for his senior year.

Waters is reporting that the reason the presser is TBD is because Fair's status is literally TBD. Goodness, today's antics sure won't help...

ORIGINAL: I said earlier this morning that I have absolutely no idea what C.J. Fair is going to decide when he holds his press conference. I honestly could see either thing happened. And it turns out, we might already know which way he's going...and we might not like it.

Syracuse Orange fans are on pins and needles waiting for the announcement. We're sweating every mention, worrying about every silent day that passes and generally pinning our hopes and dreams for another Final Four run on the return of one Creamy Jujubee Fair.

And then David Aldridge, in an article about players in the upcoming NBA Draft, casually rips our hearts out without a second glance...

For now, since McDermott is still deciding, I'm not putting him on any Board. But if he does, I'm going to start him as a power forward and see how the two months before the Draft shake out. The same goes for Syracuse junior C.J. Fair, who has declared for the Draft.

.............

I haven't followed Aldridge's post-ESPN career closely but by all accounts, he's a solid journalist. So if he's going to casually mention that Fair is not only leaning towards the NBA Draft but has actually already declared (even silently), I find it hard to believe its not true.

So....that's that? I suppose we can still hold out hope that there's been some kind of miscommunication or error here, but, I don't think it works like that.

Ultimately, this is why, when most people were saying Fair was coming back, I was saying "assume the best but expect the worst." You really never know how these things are going to shake out. Dion Waiters went from a late first-rounder to the No. 4 pick overall. After months of saying he'd be a 3rd-4th rounder, Ryan Nassib might be the first QB taken in the NFL Draft this week. And C.J. Fair, whom we've all been working under the assumption is a 2nd rounder, might just be seeing his name shooting up draft boards into the first round. Nothing is off the table anymore.

We'll wait for official word, which I would imagine will now come sooner than later. Carry on, Orange fans. If you want to feel good, remember that this year's team lost arguably its four best players from the prior season and then went to the Final Four. Stranger things...