Why fab melo suspended

Fab Melo finally spoke publicly Tuesday about the suspension that kept him from playing in the NCAA tournament last March, but the former Syracuse center's responses probably didn't win over any of his critics. He didn't detail what he failed to accomplish in the classroom that led to Syracuse declaring him ineligible. He didn't shoulder any blame for not putting forth maximum effort in his studies.

And he didn't apologize for letting down his teammates and Syracuse fans. Asked by the The Associated Press after a workout with the Indiana Pacers what led to his suspension, Melo only confirmed it was "academic" in nature. He said NBA executives are "comfortable" with that explanation, no surprise considering pro teams are more worried about his ability to pass a basketball than a math class.

But that's something I couldn't do anything about. They missed Melo's defensive presence in the middle of their trademark two-three zone, falling to Ohio State in the Elite Eight without the Big East defensive player of the year. Some Syracuse fans may not forgive Melo regardless of what he said about his suspensions, but he did not help himself any by staying silent for months, nor by not being forthcoming in his first public comments.

He's undoubtedly right that the language barrier surely played a role in his academic woes. Nonetheless, the potential late first-round pick could have taken more responsibility for his mistakes and apologized to his teammates and coaches for not being available when they needed him most. An Orange County mom has filed a police complaint after her daughter was left with a concussion from a sucker punch during a youth basketball game. The forward didn't play the final two games of the tournament.

Henson averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game, and is a two-time ACC defensive player of the year. Doherty was this year, in six years. Skip to content Share Icon. Facebook Logo. Link Icon. Syracuse needed it's defensive anchor in a tough road game, and without him, the Orange ended up suffering their first loss of the year.

In the next two games without Melo, Syracuse struggled against Cincinnati but squeaked out a win. In the next game, Syracuse escaped with a victory against West Virginia. It's clear that he plays a huge role in 'Cuse's success. Earlier this month, a situation arose in which sources claimed that at least ten Syracuse players since had tested positive for "banned recreational substances.

Not many details have been released regarding this situation, but it appears that it does not pertain to any current team members. Whether or not this will have an effect on Jim Boeheim and his future at Syracuse, however, remains unknown.

Two days later, though, he was cleared, back in action for a game against St. I wasn't nervous about it. The Orange were back at full strength, beating St. John's by 25 points, No. Syracuse earned a No. Syracuse investigated and uncovered the unauthorized assistance. When an investigator went to meet with Melo, they discovered someone had tried to delete the paper from Kissel's computer a day earlier. Melo ultimately earned an "F" on the paper and was suspended for academics March 14, taking him out of the NCAA tournament.

Belanger was fired. Kissel resigned. Wall was reassigned. Said the NCAA: "The academic leaders including the faculty athletics representative and associate provost were convened by the director of athletics, developed a game plan going forward and then left it to the director of basketball operations to get the job done.