FanPost

Fab Melo: He Will Make The Leap

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via www.genzpad.com

We all know how Fab did this season. He didn't come in and immediately become the big man on campus like we had thought, he struggled mightily at times with injury and conditioning issues, and he never really proved to be a factor for us offensively and only rarely defensively. However, I believe that its safe to say that he will definitely be the starting Center next year, and he will do incredibly well.

Despite the overall poor play, we've seen flashes of the incredible skill set he has for a Center, and those at practice have reported that in a closed environment he is something special. Here's what we know about Fab's abilities: He definitely has a developed face up game away from the post, and can hit mid range jumpers out to about 15 feet. He can post up and has post up moves, as well as having the ability to play from the high post and maybe put the ball on the floor, something I don't think any Syracuse center has ever been able to do. The one big skill he has, and which he was able to actually utilize at times this year, was his passing, which was absolutely phenomenal for a big man. He needs to develop his court vision a bit to take advantage of it, as he sometimes was overconfident and forced a pass that wasn't there, but if it was would have been easy points. On defense, its obvious he never learned to properly contest shots, as it seems he had a habit carried over from High School where he relied on his height to simply smother the defender, and the athleticism in the NCAA, as well as greater height on the players, didn't allow him to do that. The good thing is he learned to not foul so often, but he still needs to learn to contest shots without fouling as much. He definitely has the ability to be a shot blocker, though more in a Rick Jackson sense than a Mutumbo sense, in that he'll get blocks from his positioning and not athleticism. Which is probably his biggest need for improvement, his defensive positioning. That should be fixed during the offseason, and if he gets that down then Melo could be a threat on both sides of the court, and not just offensively.

One of the biggest problems with Fab this year was conditioning, as he clearly came into Syracuse having not worked out too much since the all star games the previous spring. He wasn't incredibly out of shape, but he was lethargic. And then the achilles/calf injury happened, and essentially Melo was screwed at playing more than 5 or 10 minutes a game as a result. He got his conditioning up at the end of the season, and was able to play for extended periods of time, but still not at the level it should have been at. Luckily, since he will be under the control of the S&C program this summer, I expect this will also be rectified.

Finally, what I think the biggest problem for Fab was this year was simply off the court issues, mainly homesickness and adjustment issues. He had only lived in Florida for 2 years before he came here, and coming to Syracuse was his first time not being around ANY relatives or guardians, dealing with cold weather, and more. You may say most college freshman have to deal with that, but Fab had a spotlight on him, and obviously took a long time to adjust to Syracuse. As an aside, you can look at the first seasons for Brazilian soccer players playing in Europe. For the most part, European clubs will not play talented Brazilians for the first 6 months to a year because of that homesickness, and it seems to be a common occurrence with Brazilian players. Fab looked to get happier towards the end of the year, and except for that family incident that we don't know much about, he appears to be settling in. Next year he will most likely not feel nearly as isolated as he did this year. Expect a family member or one of his guardians from Florida to try and move the Syracuse  to help him even more. Regardless, being settled in is what I think will be the biggest benefit to Fab's game next year.

In closing, Fab Melo had a disappointing year, yes, but all signs point to him taking the leap next year. He looked to have caught up to the pace and physicality of the NCAA game by the end of the season, and also will look to be settled in to Syracuse as well. I think the biggest thing to watch this offseason is how long Fab goes to Brazil for. That is the wild card in all this, whether or not Fab may decide that being on his own for another season is not what he wants, and he goes pro in Brazil. I have a feeling Fab won't spend much time in Brazil though, and the less time he is there is probably for the better. I expect him to spend most of the summer in Florida, and I hope he hooks up with his High School coach to help train in the offseason. I just felt the need to say this because honestly, I feel people overlook the potential Fab clearly has over the quick production Keita gave. Difference is, I don't think Keita has much room to improve from what he did this season, and I seem him as a Jeremy McNeil type of player. Riley, I can't judge since I still have barely seen him, but I'm more confident Melo realizes potential than Riley emerges as a skilled, average Big East center. Dissect, rip apart, applaud, and decry this post as you wish, I look forward to the discussion I hope it generates.