Fab Melo sounds like a nickname your grandmother might have had imprinted on a T-shirt for Carmelo Anthony when he played for and won a national title with the Orange in 2003. Apparently it also means a 7-foot, 267-pound Brazillian high school prospect who is being recruited by the Orange, amongst others.
Fabricio De Melo, a 7-foot native of Brazil who attends Sagemont High School in Weston, Fla., will make an unofficial visit to the SU campus this weekend, according to his coach.
Melo, who goes by Fab Melo, transferred from his school in Brazil to Sagemont last summer. However, Florida state high school rules regarding international transfers prevented him from playing at Sagemont this past season.
That didn't keep the word from getting out on the Brazilian phenom. In addition to Syracuse, Melo has already taken unofficial visits to Connecticut and Louisville, while receiving scholarship offers from the likes of Texas, Miami, Florida and Florida State.
All the kid is doing is practicing and he's got major colleges offering him scholarships left and right. Now THAT'S good. According to his high school coach, Melo has "a very advanced skill set" and unlimited potential, the kind of things college recruiters and Chad Ford orgasm over. He's currently rated the 5th best center in the 2010 class and25th best player overall...AND ALL HE DOES IS PRACTICE!
To put his size in perspective, Arinze Onuaku clocks in at 6'9", 275 and Hasheem Thabeet is 7'3, 263. So split the difference on height and there you go.
Naturally, he's already got some suitors, namely UConn, Louisville and Florida However, this weekend's visit to Syracuse is his first and only scheduled visit so far. Something tells me they'll be stopping by grounds of The Melo Center once or twice.