Syracuse Gets Its Brazilian
The day didn’t progress as smoothly as suggested by Mike McClusky’s tweet on Monday night, but Orange fans will take the end result just the same, thank you very much:
Fab Melo is coming to Syracuse.
The morning came and went with no announcement, but late in the afternoon, Melo’s decision was confirmed. His commitment is huge for a few reasons:
1. It gives SU a highly-ranked big man to fill the void that will be left by the graduation of Arinze Onuaku. Some will remain skeptical after the vaunted 2003 recruiting class, which included Darryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts, underperformed. That’s understandable, but for the time being, there’s also a lot of reason for excitement.
2. Melo joins DaShonte Riley as highly-touted big men who could have easily ended up at other Big East schools. Riley decommitted from Georgetown before giving his verbal to the ‘Cuse, and Louisville was second on Melo’s list. When the Big East has seasons like 2008-09, depth in the frontcourt will take you a long way.
3. It makes for a more balanced team between the backcourt and frontcourt, though it could tip the scales in favor of the post players. When Melo steps onto the court for his freshman year, he’ll join Rick Jackson as a senior, Riley as a sophomore and Baye Moussa Keita as his classmate. Word is that Keita is more of a work in progress, while it’s probable that Melo starts from day one alongside Jackson.
A lot of credit is due to the SU coaching staff on this one. Mike Hopkins led the pursuit, having initiated contact with Melo’s Sagemont, Florida, high school coach, Adam Ross. Mike Waters reported that when SU was in Miami for the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament in March, Hopkins and Bernie Fine paid Melo a visit on the day off between the Stephen F. Austin and Arizona State games. Even while the team played in its first NCAA tournament in three seasons, the coaches had the future of the program in mind, which is highly admirable.
