Fab Melo Update: There Is None

by Sean Keeley on Jan 27, 2012 6:58 PM EST in Syracuse Basketball

The odds of Fab Melo playing tomorrow when the Syracuse Orange take on the West Virginia Mountaineers don't look too good. But...no one can say for sure.

ESPN reported earlier today that, "according to a Syracuse spokesman, coach Jim Boeheim said Thursday night that Melo's situation is taking longer to resolve than anticipated." That's not actually reporting, that's just making a seperate SU representative "comment" on what Boeheim has already said and then making it sound like it's some kind of update from that representative.

It's no surprise that SU has no comment on the comment of the comment.

Donna Ditota addressed the situation in her chat today on Syracuse.com:

I know this will not make anyone happy, but there is no official word about Fab. I have been told it will be awhile before his situation is settled. Jim Boeheim said last night on his radio show that it was unlikely (not sure if that is his exact word) that Fab will play tomorrow.

Still, it's probably true. She did add that Melo is still practicing with the team, so it's not like he's been banned from all basketball-related activities or anything. He just can't play.

And so, don't expect Fab to grace us with his presence Saturday. Rakeem Christmas showed a lot of promise against Cincinnati but we'll know a lot more about his growth after this one. A good game does not a solid replacement make. Two good games could at least prove a trend. Nation of Orange thinks Christmas' growth could be the silver lining of all this.

Since Melo will be out, the upset alarms are sounding around the country. Never louder than with ESPN's John Gasaway, who is quickly climbing to the top of the #AddHimToTheList list by predicting an Orange loss and dropping SU to fifth in his power rankings.

Tweet Comment 21 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

The thing is if its grades and academic or something like that then he can't practice

SO WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Author and Contributor at Cartilage Free Captain

Follow @NickPetrilli

by Nick Petrilli on Jan 27, 2012 7:03 PM EST reply actions

ooo

Big boy at the Totty blog! Good form! Spurs are doin well this year! Good luck catchin the Red Devils! >:)

Born in '87, Orange fan since '86
I guess I made a twitter, follow @StealthTurkey

by StealthTurkey on Jan 27, 2012 7:38 PM EST up reply actions

COYSSSSSS

"It's magnificent to be in Europe, and this club - a club like Tottenham Hotspur - if we're not in Europe.... we're nothing. We're nothing." - Bill Nicholson

by Timmy L. on Jan 28, 2012 10:49 AM EST up reply actions

Not Happening

Look this seems VERY simlar to the AO situation in the NCAA tourny. I think Coach B knows for sure that Melo isn’t playing tomorrow. Why tip his hat? Keep WV guessing… Doesn’t do any good to tell us he isn’t playing. That said, ’Cuse is still an AWESOME team. We need Christmas and Baye to step up and fill the void.

by Frederick Bush on Jan 27, 2012 7:05 PM EST reply actions

I hate making speculations ...

But the latest rumor, let me stress rumor, from someone supposedly associated with the team, is that fab and some others were allegedly caught cheating on a test. If true, best case is they have to take and pass the test again… Dunno how long that takes to resolve… Take it for what you will its all I heard from someone who heard from someone

by hobocuse on Jan 27, 2012 7:13 PM EST via mobile reply actions

The rumor is he was in a class where multiple students were caught cheating on the final.

They are investigating. If it is shown Fab is innocent (which I am assuming he is, because JB is letting him practice) he will just have to retake the final.

To be safe, he isn’t playing, so if it turns out he WAS cheating, or doesn’t even pass the final, the team won’t get in trouble for having him playing while there is doubt.

My guess is he has an incomplete on his transcript pending the conclusion of the investigation. Once it is over, he can take the test, hopefully pass it, and rejoin the team.

This stuff takes time.

Born in '87, Orange fan since '86
I guess I made a twitter, follow @StealthTurkey

by StealthTurkey on Jan 27, 2012 7:18 PM EST up reply actions

thats just it

the speculation now is that he was one of them. That’s what I’ve heard from someone on campus.. not exactly reliable, but just relaying

by Acera on Jan 27, 2012 7:20 PM EST up reply actions

take it with a grain of salt but I'm hearing it's Melo's GPA from fall semester

he’s a tenth of a point from being eligible to play and they are trying appeal the decision by using a medical condition to see if they can have his GPA weighted differently so he will be eligible to play.

Bubba Army

by AdirondackOrange on Jan 27, 2012 7:50 PM EST up reply actions

If it was that he couldn't practice

As I stated above.

Author and Contributor at Cartilage Free Captain

Follow @NickPetrilli

by Nick Petrilli on Jan 28, 2012 8:52 PM EST up reply actions

Cheating rumor is still possible

But, if he was caught cheating I think he would be gone. There is no way they would let him stay if he was cheating. The ring kind of makes sense in that Fab is innocent but has to wait for the investigation to conclude. Didn’t Mike Williams or some other football player get kicked out for cheating?

by orangetundra on Jan 27, 2012 7:20 PM EST up reply actions

I love making speculations

That’s what the Internet is for (and porn).

The way things are playing out, my gut tells me that this delay indicates that it’s more a matter of when, not if, things will be settled in Fab’s favor; i.e. some sort of cheating ring not involving Fab wherein he can’t play until the investigation is complete and its decided what to about the class as a whole. Fab doesn’t seem all that concerned about it. Jim B doesn’t seem all that concerned about it. He all know Boeheim doesn’t pander to bullshit. If it was probable that Fab was going to be ineligible, he would say so. Again, I’m just speculating and could be totally wrong. But my money is on Fab being back.

And, much like Nation of Orange pointed out, so long as Syracuse keeps winning, Fab being out and Rak getting quality PT can only be a good thing. Any scenario that keeps the rotation 10 deep is a good one. As it is, BMK is stinking it up. Rak needs to be able to spell Fab for 5-6 minutes at a time without the wheels falling off, especially on defense.

"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes

by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 28, 2012 11:26 AM EST up reply actions

Speculation will never end

Obviously he hasn’t flunked out since he is still practicing. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t on the verge of it and waiting on appeals or trying to fix an incomplete. The cryptic part is Boeheim stating it will take a while. That kind of dispels the fail or incomplete because realistically those wouldn’t take that long to resolve (one way or the other).

It does open up the possibility of a scenario like the cheating ring. The problem with that is you would think if it affected a whole class, it would be all over twitter. There is no way you can keep an entire class quiet.

If it is a case of just not releasing that Fab is gone, that is pointless. Sure it screws with WV tomorrow, but a month from now I don’t think anyone will believe Fab is coming back (if he is still gone). They guarded the status of AO a few years ago to save the #1 seed. I think by the 2nd weekend nobody believed he was coming back.

WV will be a tough game. Cincy was notoriously small going with a 4 guard lineup. W. Virginia will be a much tougher test for Rak. Hopefully Dion comes to play.

by orangetundra on Jan 27, 2012 7:18 PM EST reply actions

He's not playing tomorrow

JB said to Matt Park, and Matt tweeted this out earlier today, that it was taking longer than they expected to resolve the situation, and it is something (no shock) from last semester that remains unresolved. He also said that it would be some time before it was resolved. I’m thinking he won’t be back till SU plays Georgetown, and that’s when we will really need him. That sounds like a cheating inquiry to me. Maybe someone sitting adjacent to Fab had the exact same test answers or something like that. He’s not academically ineligible under NCAA rules, as I’ve said repeatedly, or he’d be barred from practice. But clearly there’s either an investigation going on, or Fab didn’t turn in a paper, got an incomplete and is working to get it done, or it has gotten done and it has to be graded and his grade one of D or above before he can play. Sorry for the run on sentence. Fab’s tweet to Andy Katz makes me hopeful this is short term.

by orangeskin on Jan 27, 2012 7:18 PM EST reply actions

how long is "awhile"?

That’s such an indefinite term.

Vagueness annoys me.

I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.

by Fly Rodder on Jan 28, 2012 9:11 AM EST via iPhone app up reply actions

According to people on Syracusefan.com

The whole cheating thing, fab cheating or cheating ring, has been nixed.

by fatmofo55 on Jan 27, 2012 7:36 PM EST reply actions

Did they mention the source of that info

If so, then it’s a paper or other assignment that has to be turned in and graded. Maybe it’s taking Fab longer to get it done since English is his third language. Also, the professor isn’t automatically going to grade it faster just because it helps out JB, regardless of his enormous clout on the Hill. He doesn’t make tenure decisions and there are professors who don’t like him and what the SU basketball program stands for. They think the athletes are fraudulent students diverting funds that could be used for research and that JB is the symbol of athletics almost superseding academics at times at SU. I sure as hell didn’t care about that when I was there, but there are plenty of students who are openly hostile towards SU’s sports programs and many of them are grad or Ph. D students who oftentimes end up as professors somewhere. Some of them at SU.

by orangeskin on Jan 27, 2012 8:33 PM EST up reply actions