Fab Melo Out Again For Syracuse

I have been trying to pay a little attention to the Syracuse Orange and their big man Fab Melo. I am very curious to why he is still out. Living so close to Syracuse and having several people that work in the same organization I do live in Syracuse the rumor mill is flying. The only thing I do know to be true is he hasn't played the last two games and is not going to play in Syracuse this Saturday.

According to several sources the only thing officially being reported is that he is going to miss his third game due to an "academic issue". Melo has averaged 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds in 22 minutes a game. Granted those stats aren't that impressive but his court presence is a huge part of their 2-3 zone. I am not going to write about how I think he affects the team when he doesn't play, because clearly they are a different team with him. That is true when any starter for a team is out. The Orange are a deep team and they have great coaches and athletes. They will adapt to life without him. For Syracuse fans him sitting out could either be good or bad. The good would be he busts hard like he has in the off season and continues to improve and work on his game. The bad news, which I could see happen is he doesn't get it resolved and declares for the NBA even if he is not ready.

The big question is what exactly did he due and is it going to cost not only him but the whole team? Like I mentioned above the rumors have been flying around Central NY. I have heard everything from he is done for the year, the team will forfeit games, he will be back in a week, he failed a class, he cheated on a test, he is expelled from school, he got caught playing with professionals, he accepted money. Could some of these rumors be true? Yes they most certainly can be, but I highly doubt it.

It's a shame how much effort he put into losing weight and becoming a better basketball player just to out of nowhere have to sit. A couple of people have written about the story and have stated the he did participate in practice Wednesday. It was noted he seemed loose and in good spirits during practice. Of course the media was trying to talk to him but him and any school official are unable to comment on it. The only thing being said is he could be out for a while until it is resolved. Question is what is so bad that he did to keep him out? Due to individual privacy protections for students it appears we will not be hearing any new information for a bit.

So if anyone has any information and want to report it here let me know. Either leave a comment or email me at 30mclear44@gmail.com. Even if it's just a rumor i'm sure someone out there has to have some kind of information as to why he is out. Someone on the Syracuse campus or near there must of some kind of information. Regardless if I hear anything I will post here.