As news trickles in regarding the Fab Melo Situation, we're back in that warm and fuzzy place where a scandal disrupts the Syracuse Orange season and we're not quite sure if it's a big deal, no deal or some kind of middle-type deal.
Let's start with the first official reaction from Jim Boeheim:
As he left the bus in front of the team hotel Tuesday, Boeheim at first said he had nothing to say. He then told The Associated Press that "all we can do is be ready to play with the guys we have."
Boeheim did not say who he has named as the new starter to replace Melo, not that you would expect him to do so getting off the team bus.
Now as for Melo's ineligibility and the issues that caused it, that's where we're officially on confusing ground.
Initially, Dana O'Neill reported that the NCAA made Melo ineligible over the same issue that he was held out for earlier in the season. Now it sounds like both of those things might not be true. Her story has been amended to say Syracuse made Melo ineligible:
Melo was declared ineligible by Syracuse, not the NCAA, according to Bob Williams, the NCAA vice president of communications. Citing a source, ESPN.com had reported earlier that the NCAA had revisited Melo's previous suspension. Williams said that the NCAA only deals in an athlete's initial eligibility; once a player is on campus, his eligibility is the responsibility of the school.
Seth Davis, meanwhile, is saying adamantly that this problem is related to a totally different issue than the first one.
However, Jeff Goodman says it is.
"The NCAA went back and looked at his schoolwork," one source told CBSSports.com. "They are looking into the fact that he didn't do some of the work."
So, where does that leave us? As usual, absolutely confused. And since Syracuse doesn't have to tell us (and won't), it might be a while before we know for sure what caused Fab Melo to be booted from the NCAA Tourney.
As for whether or not Fab's issues will have an affect on games played this season, that's a whole other story that we haven't even delved into yet.
One thing we do know is that all of this came down pretty quickly. Seth Davis notes that Melo practiced with the team yesterday, though Fab did practice with the team during his first suspension as well.