Confidential: Boehiem Says Fab Melo’s March Suspension Was Not Academics
D.A. | Jun 26, 2012 | Comments 15
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The mystery of Fab Melo’s March suspension continues with more ammo. There’s probably no reason to keep melting my brain over this, but Jim Boeheim’s latest spot with our friend Brent Axe adds another layer of intrigue to what exactly happened.
“The next part of the deal is something that nobody knows about and nobody is able to talk about, but it wasn’t a matter of him not doing something academically.”
Well, hey now. That’s a pretty ominous nugget, right? It’s something that “nobody knows about, and nobody is able to talk about.” What is this, a mafia hit?
Moments after Fab’s suspension came down, I threw darts against the wall.
“Maybe Fab failed a drug test and Syracuse felt it had to suspend him in light of the report? Is it possible the university caught wind of an impermissible benefit that could compromise a run through March, and didn’t want to take the chance a Final Four banner could be vacated?”
The next day I theorized the NCAA felt Syracuse’s reinstatement of Fab after his first suspension was dubious, so the Orange got skittish about playing him in the tourney. I wrote at the time:
“It’s not one thing, it’s everything. The Fine disaster put a magnifying glass on the program. Investigative media and the NCAA started looking. And when you’re a big time athletic program, football or basketball, you search hard enough, you’ll find something. So I believe Syracuse felt it had Fab’s situation squared away in the winter. The athletic department used the time he was out to dismiss one or two of the failing classes he had on his transcript on the grounds of a language barrier (English is Fab’s second language). The NCAA kept looking. The Yahoo! report popped. And the NCAA followed the paper trail and believed Fab’s reinstatement was flimsy. This week SU was alerted by the NCAA any tournament wins with Melo runs the risk of being vacated. Just my theory.”
But The Per’fesser is now insisting that it had nothing to do with his academics. Was there something linked to his volatile relationship with his girlfriend that put him in court before? Was it eligibility issues from a hotly contested recruitment? Was deportation a concern? His educational background might be questioned having come from Brazil, but that would seem to fall under academics.
The reason it’ll take far longer than three months to digest this is because of the ramifications of the suspension. A magical Orange season was short-circuited primarily because of Melo’s absence. There’s no guarantee SU would’ve beaten Ohio State even with him, but the entire run took on a totally different feel without the starting center.
It looked all along like Boeheim’s 4th Final Four. A trip to New Orleans for soldiers like Scoop and Kris, and the dynamic surge of Dion Waiters just felt like destiny. And the land mine blew up on the way to the airport. Boeheim told Axe:
“First of all, nobody knows what happened. Everybody’s [got] rampant speculation every time I hear something. He knows that he didn’t do the work that he needed to do on the first suspension. He’s well aware of that. And he was probably well-capable of doing it but he got confused in terms of what he was doing, what he was thinking about and by the time he could correct that, he was in pretty bad academic shape. He did get it corrected and was able to come back and play. The next part of the deal is something that nobody knows about and nobody is able to talk about, but it wasn’t a matter of him not doing something academically.
“That said, what happened has nothing to do with the NBA. Absolutely nothing. In other words, there is no relevance to anything that has to do with his NBA prospects. Nothing. Not one percent. They are not concerned about it. They have been told the academic problem. He knows he messed up. Wasn’t the first guy, won’t be the last guy that has an academic shortfall. But that won’t have any effect on his NBA career”
Eventually I’ll stop looking for Syracuse’s second-shooter, the video evidence of Fab’s Bigfoot. But not yet. It still stings. And when Boeheim drops the dime, “nobody is able to talk about it,” my antennae goes up. File it under, “Burn After Reading.”
Posted: D.A.
He had to failed one too many drug tests. There are only three completely confidential topics (typically speaking) when it comes to a college athlete: 1) Academics. If JB is to be believed, then it wasn’t that. 2) Medical/psychological problem. It’s not that as the SU Athletic Dept would have issued a statement and Fab would be going through intense physicals and we’d hear the talk about medical records that we hear with Jared Sullinger. 3)Failed drug test. I am convinced that he failed one test too many and SU couldn’t take any chances after the Yahoo report just before the tournament. Obviously, if he’s passing drug tests now, it’s not an NBA issue (if you listen to JB), and thus is the reason why it is of no concern to the NBA. This might explain why his stock is not a bit higher, but the real irony is that Sullinger’s team may have won the game, but it is looking more and more like 2 SU players will be picked before Sullinger, including Fab, the guy we needed to beat Ohio State. I have forgiven Fab, but am still bitter that SU didn’t beat Ohio State. I have watched thousands of college basketball games over the years, and that was undoubtedly the most poorly officiated game I’ve ever seen.
No flow to that game. 43 fouls called. It was awful. The NCAA didnt want the black eye of cbball to be in the final 4. Once he gets drafted he should let the fans know what happend. He owes us that. Unless its gonna put us on the sidelines /w uconn. Then he can keep it to himself.
it was a failed drug test after the big east tournement… end of story …
Failed drug test sounds like a pretty good guess after what JB said. That one is never gonna feel right. Damn.
Who cares about Melo at this point. He screwed the team, his couch, the college, alumni, not to mention his family. Screw him
Who cares about Fab being offed? Jimmy isn’t dumb enough to get rid of the kid for no reason during tournament time. Its time you guys grow up and move on to the current stories Recruiting for both big sports. Doug’s camp starts Thursday boys . Wake up!!
[...] The Orange Fizz tells us that Jim Boeheim had some interesting things to say about Fab Melo‘s pre-march Madness [...]
Who cares about him. I was in Boston and we were hosed big time by the refs. No way were they going to permit SU to be in the final 4. End of story and Melo also!! GO CUSE
Glad we are clearing this up. Even though it is still not totally clear.
Can’t verify but was told by insiders he was caught cheating…they acted very matter a fact…Celtics may take him.. Two years he’ll be playing in Brazil. Recruit character and desire.. Melo fails on both counts
I heard from a dean that he got physical with a coed. Nancy made the call. He was immature, not concerned about his team or teammates, and was never here to attend school. The majority of the classes he passed first year involved spanish. i predict he will be a bust. I see discipline problems coming up as soon as he gets a big payday.
I agree with orangeskin above. He hit it right on the head. Must have been a failed drug test, although Fab doesn’t seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed – which would point towards academic issue. I also concur about the Ohio St game. One of the worst officiated games I have seen in watching thousands of ncaa and pro b-ball games. There was an astounding 49 personal fouls called, resulting in the Buckeyes shooting 42 free throws. yes . . . 42. this, against a team that plays exclusively zone – which limits personal fouls. The game was literally determined by the refs.
i messed up………….every time out of the 4 times from the very 1st slip I was never given the sopport what was needed owed and should of be offered by those that ment the most to me and i mean all of them theres no doubt that they had the means and know how to gide me strait to where i needed to be instead i was thrown to the bin i never let any one down intentionally i was the one that was let down not that i am blame free i made the silly moves me any only me.. mostly what matters now what can be done my minds set on doing right for whats most important and the little man will have me on side the whole way to do whats needed so ill be part of things once all is stable and on track. and no one will tell me noththing apart from little man him self and his other parent who knows not to allow any manipulation by wheels 4 legs eyes all over you BOY 1 SLIP AND ILL REMOVE YOU FROM ANY THING ANY ONE MIGHT CALL LIFE CANT WAIT TO MEET YOU
REALY any way orangieboom see you in a bitt love 4 all apart from no idea whats what boy good luck ha haaaaaa
A couple of days after the second suspension, I had gone into work and walked into a conversation a couple of co-workers were having. They were talking about Fab Melo getting suspended. From what they had said, it wasn’t an academic issue. Apparently he had thought that it would be a good idea to lock some girl (girlfriend perhaps?) in a bathroom. Those were the only details that I had heard. Supposedly my co-worker knew some people who knew the girl or Fab Melo or whatever. I didn’t think much of it because a) info that was circulating at the time was reporting more academic issues. And b) usually when I hear information that is from a friend of a friend, etc, I usually think, “Wow, what a bunch of sh*t.” And I go on with my day. But all of this got me thinking that maybe he did do something stupid like that. He IS Fab Melo after all. Of course, this could all be a heinous rumor. Ah, the joys of the internet and gossip whores.
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