local piece on Fab Melo

By Donna Ditota, The Post-Standard
on October 23, 2012 at 12:30 PM, updated October 23, 2012 at 1:23 PM Email | Print



Syracuse, NY -- Fab Melo’s esteem in the minds of many Syracuse basketball fans absorbed its first hit just weeks into his official Orange career.
The euphoria of landing one of the nation’s top high school big men slowly ceded to the frustration of his unsettling level of play his freshman year, when it was clear the 7-footer from Brazil was not the polished basketball product so many predicted he would be.

But that realization paled compared to the next revelation regarding Melo. When SU ruled him academically ineligible to compete in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the vitriol about Melo rose to unprecedented levels. He was chastised on fan chat boards and denounced as lazy, selfish and intellectually dim.

Orange fans, remembering the anguish of two seasons earlier, when an injured Arinze Onuaku perhaps prevented SU from winning a national championship, considered this new postseason curse to be entirely Melo’s fault.

They had no ready reservoir of sympathy.

And Melo heard the symphony of sarcasm and resentment.

“I mean, I heard bad things about me all the time at Syracuse,” Melo said. “You just gotta get used to it. If you live that life, you gotta get used to it. I just tried not to care about that stuff.”

Melo was speaking Saturday night in Albany, where he and former Orange teammate Kris Joseph played an NBA exhibition game vs. the New York Knicks. Melo wore a Boston uniform, No. 13 on his chest. The Celtics selected him with the 22nd pick of the June draft. Terms of his contract were not released, but the NBA slots base salaries for first-round picks, allowing teams the option of providing slight bumps. Melo will reportedly make about $1.25 million this season.

He likely will spend a portion of it playing for the Celtics’ D-League team in Maine. Boston coach Doc Rivers said Melo “has the whole game in front of him” and needs time to adjust to the physical and mental rigors that define his new occupation. The Maine Red Claws, located in nearby Portland, will offer the opportunity for Melo to play every day.

His reputation in Syracuse, though, might never rebound from what transpired last season. Melo did not address specifics of what led to his ineligiblity, but said he was pained by his inability to help his team during the most crucial stretch of the season.

“That period was very difficult,” he said. “I was very upset for what happened. I was upset for my teammates. Really, we had a shot to win a championship. That was a very hard time for me. But now, I just have to leave that behind. I’m focusing on getting better as a Celtic.”

Melo continues his basketball education, this time for an NBA franchise that has invested financially in his future.

His minutes were limited during the NBA preseason. He averaged 5.9 minutes in three Celtics preseason games, the briefest of windows to prove he belonged. And when Rivers opted to send him into the fray, Melo struggled to make sense of the game.
“He’s just young. He’s gonna struggle,” Rivers said after Melo played eight uneventful minutes against the Knicks. “You just throw him out there. He gets down on himself. He wants to do well. Has a good attitude about it. It’s frustrating for us, too, at times to watch. But then we have to remind ourselves that he’s young and he’s growing and it’s just a long path for him.

“He hasn’t been playing basketball his whole life. He’s learning in the NBA. That’s not the best place to learn how to play. He’s going to have to do that.”

By all accounts, he’s listening and trying to apply the knowledge dispensed by Celtics coaches and teammates. The presence of Joseph has helped. Melo does not drive, so Joseph transports him to and from practice each day. The two play video games together – Melo prefers FIFA13 to Joseph’s NBA 2K – and take easy comfort in their two-year college friendship.


Fab Melo tears off his Celtics warmups and prepares to enter the game in last weekend's NBA exhibition between the Knicks and Celtics in Albany.
Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard Melo’s weight, sometimes a fluctuating frustration at Syracuse, is a stable 255. He said he weighed 245 last year in Syracuse but has added weight-room bulk to his upper body.
Jared Sullinger, the former Ohio State forward who was drafted a spot ahead of Melo by the same Celtics, said he labors against the former SU big man every day in practice and sees slow, but steady progress.

“He’s working hard every day, asking a lot of questions,” Sullinger said. “He wants to do well. And I think sometimes that’s why people see him mess up. He’s playing so freaking hard to the point where, you know, sometimes it messes him up.”

Melo said his biggest adjustment has been understanding the various speeds of the NBA game. He struggled with a more intense pace as a college freshman, but now, he is trying to settle into a more cerebral, calibrated state of play.

“I had this problem at Syracuse, too. The game was too fast for me,” he said. “Sometimes I wanted to do too much with the little time I have on the court. You just gotta wait and slow down.”

The Celtics want him to understand, initially, the fundamentals of man-to-man defense, particularly in NBA pick-and-roll situations. Rivers praised Melo’s footwork and said the big man has the physical capacity to slide quickly enough to defend in the NBA. Melo's athleticism continues to intrigue his coaches. But he is still learning to identify defensive situations and react appropriately. He is still learning context.

“They tell me I need to be able to defend right now. That’s the main thing,” Melo said. “It’s different to know how to defend in the zone and now defend in the man. That’s one thing that’s been hard for me to adjust. But I have been getting better.

“My offense game is coming. They see I have a touch. There’s a lot of room to get better. I’ve been working on all these things. And I’m very patient. They tell me to do things and I have no problems. I’m working hard for them.”

Melo described draft day as a “great night” for himself and his family. He and his mother watched the draft from Miami and were thrilled when the Celtics selected him. He knew the storied history of the franchise and believed with Kevin Garnett as a mentor, he would benefit from the opportunity.

He acknowledged his adjustment thus far “has been pretty slow.” Barring an injury to another Boston big man, he is likely to spend significant time in Portland this winter.

“Of course I want to be with the team,” he said of the Celtics. “But if they told me to be in Maine, I guess that’s the best choice they want for me. They want me to get experience, play more games. I understand that. And I know I’ll be coming back.”

For the former Syracuse center, the transformation from two-year college player to NBA roster seems studded with speed bumps. Rivers touched on the intangibles Melo must understand before he can make the leap from overwhelmed potential college star to reliable NBA product.

Rivers preached patience, a word long associated with Melo and his still-blossoming basketball career.

“The first thing he has to learn and will learn is being an NBA player and what that takes: the professionalism, the toughness, the practice habit,” Rivers said. “The mental habits, first. Because I don’t think you can improve until you get past that hurdle.

“Then once you get there, then you understand the work load. And then you’re willing to do it. And that doesn’t mean he doesn’t or hasn’t. But it’s new for him and you can see that.”

Beat,

Thanks for posting this.

One has to feel for the guy. I don't know what got him suspended, but it appears he's dealing with the reputation like a man—not mouthing off, working really hard, and having patience.

It's encouraging that his defensive footwork has been praised. It's presumably easier to learn technique than to learn footwork. Although I feel the DL wouldn't help Joseph as much as being available to practice with the Celts, Melo is another story. He appears to need to progress in tinier increments than Joseph, and hopefully the DL will provide that for him.

Good luck, Melo. You've got a lot of support (plus a good-sized daboose) behind you.

Sam

Sam

there is a big part of me that says, come on Fab what did you do to get booted. And just lay it out there. If it is just not doing school work or attending classes I believe eventually people will back off him in and around the SU area. Although he can never have a second chance at Syracuse he can do something for the college down the road perhaps, but first he should fess up............ and move on.

I have heard many rumors but the most logical ones appear to be classes not attended and schoolwork not done. Who knows? School can't disclose this and Fab at least for now won't. Maybe in time he can and will.

So to the D-League he will go, hopefully improve and the C's get a player whom can contribute down the road......but as in the one of the Beatles last works..........It's a long and winding one!

beat

Beat,

Maybe more winding for Fab than for many others. Except for the occasional block and the very occasional rebound, he looked pretty raw during summer league and his minimal preseason floor time.

Now that I think of it, I wonder whether Fab's relationship to Joseph will factor into the Celtics' thinking about possibly sending Kris to the D League. Although I'd prefer Joseph's sticking and practicing with the Celtics, I could see the logic of having Kris get a lot of game time (though against inferior opposition) AND being a good companion for Fab.

Sam

cowens/oldschool wrote:whatever Fab did was really bad for the college game, Syracuse looked great all season, I really enjoyed watching them and who didn't want to see that team go against NC, Kentucky, Kansas etc. Once Fab was done you knew that team wasn't going anywhere, what a shame. I blame the school as much as Fab, they should have known his plight, that hes just learned English and needs help. He didn't do anything so bad that anything was criminal, watch the kid hes 20 or 21....how unscrupulous were we all at that age?

"At that age?" We'll let's just say I'll never be able to run for political office with those numerous skeletons in the closet.............

For those of you who watched Fab closely at Syracuse, how would you compare his game then to what you've been seeing from him as a Celtic? Did he have go-to moves in college that haven't been successful since? Is he the same Fab now that he was in college, and is it just the caliber of competition that has changed?

Sam

Thanks, Cow.

Sam

There had to be something in his game that attracted Danny and Doc. It seems that they by passed Perry Jones to take Fab, now Jones seems to be a steal. Anyone have any thoughts there???


Rosalie

@ Rosalie,

We needed BIG on draft day. Perry Jones is long, but he's a toothpick. Furthermore, I've heard that there is talk his knees won't let him play more than a few years at this level. In fact, he sat out a pre-season game already due to a "sore knee".

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/19545670/nba-scout-perry-jones-iiis-knees-will-hold-up-for-only-34-years

http://blog.newsok.com/thunderrumblings/2012/10/19/four-sidelined-for-thunder-vs-phoenix/


@ nobody in particular,

As far as Melo goes, he has got to stop playing FIFA video games and start playing NBA video games (assuming he's doing that instead of sleeping at the courts). I realize that it's just a downtime diversion, but I see this as a metaphor for his biggest problem facing him now. He hasn't been submerged in basketball for very long. He hasn't lived, breathed and eaten basketball since his was a little kid. Physically he's more advanced than Sully, but Sully is the Tiger Woods of basketball. He's been bred for this sport by his coach father since he was 3. The most important muscle at the pro level, in any sport, is the 4" one between the ears and that's the weakest muscle in Melo's body right now. The only thing Melo should be thinking about is hoops. Period. If he's playing FIFA video games instead of NBA2k he's weakening that muscle, not strengthening it.

He should be putting himself to sleep at night counting pick-and-rolls.


bob


.

Bob

Another thought

his college coach..... I am not the biggest Jim Boeheim fan in the world, in fact far from it. I will agree he gets good players year after year and and wins the vast majority of these games. That said about 300-400 of those wins almost anyone with a pulse and a little basketball knowledge could have won with the teams he had.

he has had very good players over the years but really how many have had stellar NBA careers. Derek Coleman was always an under achiever, Pearl Washington?? nope. Sherm Douglas, Ron Seikley, anyone??? Seems Jimmy doesn't really get his players as ready as they could/should be for the next level. Then the ZONE he always coaches too.

So how in the world can we expect a kid with as you say very limited experience in the game coming from a program that has a less than stellar record of turning out great pros despite getting top ten talent year after year? Answers is we can't.

Melo came to SU with a lot of fanfare. His rookie season was poor, which was perhaps not unexpected. Improvement was made in year 2 but still he was raw and remains that way now. His shear size and athletic ability got him through the college game as he rarely faced imposing opponents. Now he would be facing the cream of the crop.

His attitude appears to be fine, he appears to want to work to get better but as you say the brain is far from being anywhere near where it needs to be. Sort of showed that last year with the academic issues. Perhaps that should have been a warning. Yeah chemistry in the class is different than chemistry on the court but if your brain doesn't do either??? If the first is too hard and you quit can you figure out the latter?

Again I go back to his college coach.... should more have been done by him? Shouldn't have someone in that top flight college program gotten in Melo's ear a whole lot sooner and laid it out for him. These guys all have as many tutors as needed but look what happened. Guess in the end it is ultimately the player's fault but ole Jimmy is not far down on the fault list for me.

Enough of my rant, Melo will get time in the D league. We'll see how that goes when his mind is on the court alone and not in the class room where apparently it wasn't anyway.

beat

beat wrote:Bob

Another thought

his college coach..... I am not the biggest Jim Boeheim fan in the world, in fact far from it. I will agree he gets good players year after year and and wins the vast majority of these games. That said about 300-400 of those wins almost anyone with a pulse and a little basketball knowledge could have won with the teams he had.

he has had very good players over the years but really how many have had stellar NBA careers. Derek Coleman was always an under achiever, Pearl Washington?? nope. Sherm Douglas, Ron Seikley, anyone??? Seems Jimmy doesn't really get his players as ready as they could/should be for the next level. Then the ZONE he always coaches too.

So how in the world can we expect a kid with as you say very limited experience in the game coming from a program that has a less than stellar record of turning out great pros despite getting top ten talent year after year? Answers is we can't.

Melo came to SU with a lot of fanfare. His rookie season was poor, which was perhaps not unexpected. Improvement was made in year 2 but still he was raw and remains that way now. His shear size and athletic ability got him through the college game as he rarely faced imposing opponents. Now he would be facing the cream of the crop.

His attitude appears to be fine, he appears to want to work to get better but as you say the brain is far from being anywhere near where it needs to be. Sort of showed that last year with the academic issues. Perhaps that should have been a warning. Yeah chemistry in the class is different than chemistry on the court but if your brain doesn't do either??? If the first is too hard and you quit can you figure out the latter?

Again I go back to his college coach.... should more have been done by him? Shouldn't have someone in that top flight college program gotten in Melo's ear a whole lot sooner and laid it out for him. These guys all have as many tutors as needed but look what happened. Guess in the end it is ultimately the player's fault but ole Jimmy is not far down on the fault list for me.

Enough of my rant, Melo will get time in the D league. We'll see how that goes when his mind is on the court alone and not in the class room where apparently it wasn't anyway.

beat

beat,


Jim Boeheim has had a long career at SU because he is one of, if not THE, best recruiter in college hoops. He has won only one National Championship in 36 years because he is one of, if not THE, worst coaches in college hoops.


bob


.

Bob

not gonna get an argument from me!

beat

Bob

Seems there is a certain pretty good player in the NBA from SU by the name of CarMELO Anthony, total brain fart on my part, but he was only with SU 1 season therefore did not have to deal with JB much anyway. And he was allowed to freelance as much as any SU player ever has, other current NBA players from SU are Hakim Warrick ( Melo's teamate on the 2003 championship team) Donte Green, Jonny Flynn and Wes Johnson.

Should also note the SU player with perhaps the "longest" NBA career was Danny Schayes. Very serviceable center for 18 seasons.

beat