Fab Melo and SU Basketball Thoughts

I know everyone been eagerly waiting to read my thoughts! (That is sarcasm for those of you who lack the ability to understand humor.)

FAB MELO

Nonetheless, here are some of my thoughts about Fab Melo and Syracuse basketball in general. After watching the McDonald’s All American Game last night I came away very impressed with Fab Melo. Even though he didn’t set the world on fire with scoring, mainly because he never got the ball, he did do a lot of things that I believe will help him contribute next year as a freshman.

The main thing that Melo can bring to the 2010-11 Syracuse Orange is athleticism at the center position. From what I saw Melo moves in all directions better than the two centers that saw significant time this past season (Jackson and AO). I couldn’t believe how quickly Melo made it up and down the court. On many occasions he was the first guy back on defense even though he was playing offense below the foul line.

MELO ON OFFENSE

Melo impressed me with his movement on offense. He was constantly setting screens and trying to get into position to rebound. Melo needs to improve his ability to anticipate where the rebounds are going. He was working hard, but on many occasions working to a spot where there was very little chance the ball would end up. The few times he shot he looked to have good shooting form. I was a little disappointed that he was stripped (although it looked like a foul) before he could shoot from three point range.

MELO ON DEFENSE

He seemed very good at getting in position and trying to help out when other players’ defense lacked. He also consistently looked for someone to box out when a shot went up. Based on what I saw last night I expect him to do an excellent job manning the middle of the 2-3 next season.

OVERALL

Coming into the game I had only seen Melo on YouTube. From what I saw he has greatly improved his quickness and looks leaner and more muscular now than he did in the past. Based on the YouTube clips I didn’t think Melo could be a solid contributor as a freshman. I thought he was a project that would need a few years to develop. After seeing him last night, I think he can play a lot as a freshman. When he plays at his best I can see him putting up 15-20 points, 8-12 rebounds and 2-3 blocks. When he plays like a freshman (which any real fan knows is going to happen at times) I still think he can put up 8-10 points, 5-7 rebounds and a 1-2 blocks. I am not realistic enough to think he is going to come in and be a superstar for us every game like the other Melo. However, I do think that at times he can play as a superstar next year.

SYRACUSE TEAM THOUGHTS

One of the reasons I am excited about Fab Melo is because of his athleticism. That is something that Syracuse has lacked recently even on some of the better teams. Now before you start to plan your rebuttal, I am not saying we don’t have athletes, I am saying we have athletes who don’t use and/or show their athleticism consistently in games. Let’s take a look at last year’s starting seven (I put them in order of least to most athletic):

Rick Jackson (Big, strong, not overly athletic!)

Arinze Onuaku (see Rick Jackson)

Brandon Triche (strong for a guard, but didn’t show athleticism this season)

Andy Rautins (very quick, great shooter, not overly athletic)

Scoop Jardine (very quick off the dribble, not a great overall athlete)

Kris Joseph (very quick off the dribble, pretty athletic)

Wes Johnson (quick, great shooter, very athletic)

Syracuse was successful this past season because they played well as a team and many of them were very good basketball players. Being a good basketball player doesn’t always mean you are a good athlete. Just like being tall doesn’t always mean you are a good basketball player.

Our lack of athleticism became apparent when I was at the East Regionals watching Kentucky play. Kentucky had 8-9 athletes who were also pretty good basketball players. They had 6-9, 6-11 guys who moved unbelievably well. Kentucky, like Syracuse, did not make the Final Four. Good teams have a mixture of good basketball and good athletes. It is tough, not impossible, but tough to win it all with just one or the other.