Former Celtic Fab Melo at the Center of NCAA’s Investigation of Syracuse Basketball

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/2015/03/09/former-celtic-fab-melo-the-center-ncaa-investigation-syracuse-basketball/PoAXzoSKx3RIiWbh6frjZN/story.html




Former Celtic Fab Melo at the Center of NCAA’s Investigation of Syracuse Basketball







Boston, MA - 06/07/12 - (fourth quarter) Boston Celtics center Fab Melo (13) gets a hand from Boston Celtics shooting guard Leandro Barbosa (12) after scoring late in garbage time.
(Globe Staff Photo / Barry Chin), section: Sports, reporter: Baxter Holmes


Fab Melo’s Celtics career spanned 36 minutes of playing time.


By Jack Andrade
Boston.com Correspondent | 03.09.15 | 11:05 AM



Syracuse’s proud basketball program has been sanctioned by the NCAA for breaking the rules, and former Celtics center Fab Melo was a key figure in the investigation.

The NCAA’s 94-page report on the violations committed by the Syracuse program contains some troubling details on the lengths the school went to keep the 2012 Big East Defensive Player of the Year on the court.


Syracuse.com outlined the investigation’s findings, reporting that Melo had a paper written for him, grades changed, and several administrators go out of their way to keep him academically eligible during the 2011-12 season. A sophomore at the time, Melo was eventually ruled ineligible for the NCAA Tournament and left school early for the NBA Draft.

The full report is available on Syracuse.com. Among other sanctions, the Syracuse program vacated 108 wins and head coach Jim Boeheim was suspended for nine ACC games next season as a result of the investigation.

The Celtics drafted Melo in the first round in the 2012 Draft. Melo said before the draft that his academic struggles were due in part to his unfamiliarity with the English language. While a member of the Celtics, he notoriously gave himself a concussion by walking into a door frame. That clumsy accident became a symbol of his stay in Boston.

Melo scored seven points in six career NBA games, all with the Celtics. He now plays professionally in his home nation of Brazil.



bob



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It is time to end the NCAA "amateur" farce. Many colleges cheat, and in the long run it pays off for them.

Does anyone think suspending Jim Boeheim for nine games is going to change things?

Does anyone think that the violations at Syracuse are isolated?

I have a rather close connection to this situation. And here are some of mu thoughts.

Does one reason if a person gets caught shoplifting, then think that all people shoplift, I hope not... to think all D! college programs do this is also questionable. Many in the SU community defend Boheim to great measures..... and some think he should be fired. I think he should have retired years ago and of course now at a local love fest for him he announces that he isn't going anywhere, to the cheers of the people there. Heck this certain connection I have to SU is at the Melo Center almost every day.........the head coach is very rarely there coaching.....that is left mainly to Hopkins and the assistants. JB is rarely approachable to the average Joe.

Perhaps the proper perspective is this....that SU tried to pull the wool over everyones eyes. They attempted to manipulate transcripts and change grades that were not earned. And they got caught. Even now that close connection I have can sit in a class that is suppose to be attended by some scholarship athletes but they rarely appear and in one case anyway this particular connection noted that when one athlete was there he was viewing porn on his I-phone. And he has not been back to that class since.

Some point out that this whole investigation took way too long............the same ones that would bitch if it was done to quickly and there would be a rush to judgment decree just as loud then if not louder. The NCAA report was 92 pages long.........I've read every page and it speaks volumes. Some charges are indeed minor but wrong none the less, others are serious.

SU committed academic fraud and got caught, the paper trail shows that several knew about it and did nothing to prevent it. Some people think the punishment was over the top.......personally I think it is a slap on the wrist.

When looking at prospective student athletes, perhaps ones GPA should be taken into account a bit more than his PPG.

just my opinion.

beat