Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Henny & Coke, post: 194058, member: 323"] and for the second time watching Fab Melo make two plays in particular: 1.) start the fast break on defense and then sprint down the court to get the ball back and jam from the Big East logo and 2.) receive inbounds pass in corner, take a dribble towards the hoop, jump, stop, and then lay it up all while twisting towards the basket (even though the shot was blocked) and then get the loose ball rebound, my mind automatically wonders how good he can be. I have not seen many (any?) players his size that are able to make such plays. I've almost never seen a man his size move as well as he does. For a 7 foot tall man, he has such great body control, athleticism, "quick twitch" muscle ability (something sought after in football for defensive line players), hand-eye coordination and even basketball insticts...to think that Fab only began playing basketball 7 years ago at the age of 14 is astounding. When he does make the occasional "dumb play" like a goaltend or simple mistake, I think people tend to forget that he has all of 7 years basketball experience, while other college players started playing basketball at what age...6? 7? Not only beginning that early, but often getting the best instruction and teaching from talented and experienced people at camps and leagues, ect. Besides the almost 2 seasons he has played for Syracuse, Fab played one year of US High School ball, a few summers of AAU camps, and a stint with the Brazil team last summer. And that's it for major basketball experience. Take a guy like DaJuan Coleman for example. He is what, 17, 18 years old maybe? He was winning NY State Championships & getting recruiting looks his freshman year of High School, at age 14-15! So at what age must he have started playing then? And what age do they get these kids into AAU ball? And to think, if Fab can continue to progress in his shooting range, what kind of threat could he be then? Because the guy does have decent form, as evidenced by his free throw percentage lately (and the jumpers he hit against UCONN, that I believe are not just luck). It's really been fun to watch him grow and become more comfortable playing at this level, and I still don't think he's truely showing his full ability. It's scary to think that Coach Boeheim may not have been exaggerating when he said earlier this year about Melo, "I don't think he's 20 percent of where he'll be someday." I thought that may have been hyperbole from Coach...now, I'm not so sure. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?