Melo – Not so Fab

Syracuse University announced that center Fab Melo (8 PPG, 5 RPG, 3 BlkPG) will not be eligible to play in the NCAA Tournament due to academic issues. On one hand, I would like to commend Syracuse. This is an action initiated by the university. The NCAA does not screen players for academic eligibility mid-semester.

Melo is a standout defender in college basketball. This move is to the detriment of the basketball team. Many writers, myself included, speculated that this development would cause Syracuse to have an earlier than expected exit from the tournament.

On the other hand, I have to question what was so bad that the university took such a drastic step, crippling the basketball team. Melo missed three games this season due to a university imposed suspension. I do not know the details, but whatever Melo did was bad and stupid.

Major universities on track to a championship, as Syracuse is, do not shoot the team in the foot without a really good reason. Academic issues are often, with good reason, kept private. So we may never know what he did. But in the Hat Trick court of opinion, Melo is liable and guilty!

Shame on ya! 1

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