My questions for tomorrow night's Jim Boeheim Show

[capeorange]

Does this sound a bit better?

1st Hour: “Coach, SU fans were so sad to hear about the passing of Fab Melo at the age of 26. Every person deserves more of a chance at life than that. I’ll always remember Fab as the happy warrior that gave us our best ever regular season. Unfortunately, some have taken the occasion to bring up his academic troubles and even blamed him for the NCAA sanction against the program. To what extent was Fab personally responsible for what happened and to what extent was it the actions of others that created the problem? “


2nd Hour: “Coach, We’ve had two centers die while still in their 20’s of heart problems, Conrad McRae and no Fab Melo. Sometimes these things are due to the accelerated growth rate of tall athletes. Are there ways of telling that a young player might have such a problem such that he might be able to treated for it? Is there anything that a coach can see that might cause him to ask the doctors to check a player out?”

IMO, now is not the time to look for whose at fault over what happened several years ago. Now is the time to celebrate a life that was too short. Why not just remember how Fab owned the paint during his sophomore season?
I love what you do for the board and thank you for the time that you dedicate to your posts.
I think that question 1 is a set up question and nobody wins. If Fab were a family member or close friend, I'd be a little more than mad if I heard that question at this time.

 

[Alsacs]

This question is far more incendiary than anything I have proposed.

My question defends a kid who in the press has been bullied. Unless Roberson behind the scenes is sabotaging the program he has been bullied.

 

[SWC75]

My question defends a kid who in the press has been bullied. Unless Roberson behind the scenes is sabotaging the program he has been bullied.

You're still challenging the coach rather than drawing his opinion out. Why don't you call in that question and see what happens?

 

[SWC75]

Look I love what you do here but no matter how you word no 1, JB is going to be dismissive of the question. And we already know the answer! Fab is not responsible for what happened...

Just looking out for you and don't want JB to think less because of the question. I'd rather see him answer whether he could ever actually get mad at Fab given his light heart.

If he says that Fab was not responsible, that's not dismissing the question. It's exactly what i want to hear him say.

Why don't you call in the question in your second paragraph?

 

[AZOrange]

If he says that Fab was not responsible, that's not dismissing the question. It's exactly what i want to hear him say.

Why don't you call in the question in your second paragraph?

No time/time differences

 

[KevMonstah]

Aside from the fact the question below would likely get you thrown out of the facility,
I sure would love to hear the answer ...

"There were quotes after the Lville game regarding Roberson along the lines of 'the wrong
guy got the rebound' and you '... knew he was going to miss (the FTs)'. How do you say
he's the wrong guy when he's one of the few who make attempts to rebound, and why
would you be surprised he does miss key FTs, when it's been a hallmark of the program
for about 30 years now?"

kev

 

[SWC75]

Anyway, i want to thank those who responded for their constructive criticism. hopefully i've shaped up the questions to make them a little more palatable. we'll see what happens.

 

[Alsacs]

You're still challenging the coach rather than drawing his opinion out. Why don't you call in that question and see what happens?

JB's behavior towards Roberson has been awful. If nobody stands up for the kid it continues. Nobody in the media is going to risk pissing JB off. If this show is about answering fan questions real questions should be asked. His statements towards Roberson have been shameful.
JB defends his players when he wants too. Roby did not deserve the humiliating comments JB gave on Monday night. The bully should be confronted or he wins.

 

[NHcuse]

You should ask him why we don't play a single prime time game at home on a Saturday? It seems this is happening more and more the last few years. They always seem to be on at noon.:noidea:

 

[newmexicuse]

My idea is to defend him. I've read articles and seen posts where people seems to be blaming him for what happened and I don't think he should be blamed. That's the answer I'm hoping for. he's already been asked a bland question about his memories of melo and that subjected will probably be discussed before they even take questions. I've incorporated my own favorable memories of Fab into the question, which will probably echo what the coach will have just said.That should get the conversation off to a good start.

As to the second question, heart problems seem to be more frequent with tall athletes and this sport is all about tall athletes and even within the sport, Syracuse is noted for looking for rather skinny, "long" big men. They take physicals and maintaining physical well-being is part of the program. I thought I'd see if the SU program is looking for possible problems. If not, perhaps they should be. There are specific things to look for, with Marfan Syndrome as an example: Marfan syndrome - Wikipedia

I totally agree with others that your question is inappropriate, especially right now. But it is totally naive to expect Jimmy to defend Fab if he were to answer because if the blame wasn't on Fab then it falls to the program for breaking or being blind to the breaking of rules and who knows how involved Jimmy may have personally been in pushing for Fab's eligibility even if he didn't tell anybody to engage in academic fraud per se. Jimmy wanted that second title real bad (as did all of us fans).

 

[br801]

Aside from the fact the question below would likely get you thrown out of the facility,
I sure would love to hear the answer ...

"There were quotes after the Lville game regarding Roberson along the lines of 'the wrong
guy got the rebound' and you '... knew he was going to miss (the FTs)'. How do you say
he's the wrong guy when he's one of the few who make attempts to rebound, and why
would you be surprised he does miss key FTs, when it's been a hallmark of the program
for about 30 years now?"

kev

When he said "the wrong guy got the rebound" during the Louisville presser, he seemed to be lamenting that one of the very good FT shooters on the floor didn't wind up with it and get fouled, more than he seemed to be taking a shot at Roberson. He certainly knows Roberson is most likely to come up with an offensive board in that situation, and was why he had him (and not Thompson) in the game at that point.

 

[cuseinseattle]

When he said "the wrong guy got the rebound" during the Louisville presser, he seemed to be lamenting that one of the very good FT shooters on the floor didn't wind up with it and get fouled, more than he seemed to be taking a shot at Roberson. He certainly knows Roberson is most likely to come up with an offensive board in that situation, and was why he had him (and not Thompson) in the game at that point.

Tyler Lydon was right there and it deflected off him and Roberson grabbed it. That is what he was talking about. If Lydon had caught it he would probably have made both of them and the game is tied. I feel like this is pretty obvious and it is being made into an issue because of past comments about Roberson.

 

[br801]

Tyler Lydon was right there and it deflected off him and Roberson grabbed it. That is what he was talking about. If Lydon had caught it he would probably have made both of them and the game is tied. I feel like this is pretty obvious and it is being made into an issue because of past comments about Roberson.

Yes, statistically, someone who shoots FTs like Lydon (around 80%) will make both about two-thirds of the time. Someone who shoots around 50% will only make both about 25% of the time.

 

[SWC75]

JB's behavior towards Roberson has been awful. If nobody stands up for the kid it continues. Nobody in the media is going to risk pissing JB off. If this show is about answering fan questions real questions should be asked. His statements towards Roberson have been shameful.
JB defends his players when he wants too. Roby did not deserve the humiliating comments JB gave on Monday night. The bully should be confronted or he wins.

JB said some nice things about Robey tonight.

 

[SWC75]

I totally agree with others that your question is inappropriate, especially right now. But it is totally naive to expect Jimmy to defend Fab if he were to answer because if the blame wasn't on Fab then it falls to the program for breaking or being blind to the breaking of rules and who knows how involved Jimmy may have personally been in pushing for Fab's eligibility even if he didn't tell anybody to engage in academic fraud per se. Jimmy wanted that second title real bad (as did all of us fans).

Jimmy answered both questions without any indication of irritation or resentment.

 

[two3zone]

Jimmy answered both questions without any indication of irritation or resentment.

And his answers were spot on. Great questions, you got a question answered that nobody has had the balls to ask or wanted to ask for years. People have wanted a scapegoat for sooooo long and they nailed the kid to the wall when he really wasn't the one to shoulder all the blame. Sad...

 

[br801]

And his answers were spot on. Great questions, you got a question answered that nobody has had the balls to ask or wanted to ask for years. People have wanted a scapegoat for sooooo long and they nailed the kid to the wall when he really wasn't the one to shoulder all the blame. Sad...

This isn't exactly a revelation. If one had considered the situation objectively, it wouldn't have been difficult to conclude that Fab was not the primary culprit.

 

[cuseinseattle]

And his answers were spot on. Great questions, you got a question answered that nobody has had the balls to ask or wanted to ask for years. People have wanted a scapegoat for sooooo long and they nailed the kid to the wall when he really wasn't the one to shoulder all the blame. Sad...

I feel like Boeheim has been saying this from the beginning though. Maybe I'm wrong but when it happened he was saying I can't talk about it but it's not Fab's fault he has been working really hard. I feel like he said it on multiple occasions without discussing details.

 

[br801]

I feel like Boeheim has been saying this from the beginning though. Maybe I'm wrong but when it happened he was saying I can't talk about it but it's not Fab's fault he has been working really hard. I feel like he said it on multiple occasions without discussing details.

I agree. But there obviously are many who never bought that (and still don't).

 

[two3zone]

I feel like Boeheim has been saying this from the beginning though. Maybe I'm wrong but when it happened he was saying I can't talk about it but it's not Fab's fault he has been working really hard. I feel like he said it on multiple occasions without discussing details.

I feel like Boeheim has been saying this from the beginning though. Maybe I'm wrong but when it happened he was saying I can't talk about it but it's not Fab's fault he has been working really hard. I feel like he said it on multiple occasions without discussing details.

I've always held strong that I blamed the school for what happened with the Melo situation. The sanctions were tough on us but there weren't many people standing with me around here when I'd voice that.

Fab got crushed around here and the blame was placed on him big time, even CTOs comment "he cost us wins", it wasn't just her and she even said that in her second post, the kid got crushed by Syracuse fans since he left and pretty much took all of the blame for this.

I don't think I've ever heard anybody from the University say what JB did and I don't even think I've seen more than a handful of fans defend Fab since 2012.

 

[SWC75]

This isn't exactly a revelation. If one had considered the situation objectively, it wouldn't have been difficult to conclude that Fab was not the primary culprit.

But it still needed to be said, especially when people were using the occasion of his death to blame him for the NCAA sanctions.

 

[br801]

But it still needed to be said, especially when people were using the occasion of his death to blame him for the NCAA sanctions.

Of course, and I'm glad JB expressed those sentiments about Fab, but I'm afraid Fab's legacy will be forever stigmatized by those who have been relentless in their criticism.

 

[SWC75]

Of course, and I'm glad JB expressed those sentiments about Fab, but I'm afraid Fab's legacy will be forever stigmatized by those who have been relentless in their criticism.

And my purpose was to answer those criticisms.

My initial wording of the questions was poor and I'm glad that people pointed that out and made the suggestions they did. But they needed to be asked.

 

[cuseinseattle]

I've always held strong that I blamed the school for what happened with the Melo situation. The sanctions were tough on us but there weren't many people standing with me around here when I'd voice that.

Fab got crushed around here and the blame was placed on him big time, even CTOs comment "he cost us wins", it wasn't just her and she even said that in her second post, the kid got crushed by Syracuse fans since he left and pretty much took all of the blame for this.

I don't think I've ever heard anybody from the University say what JB did and I don't even think I've seen more than a handful of fans defend Fab since 2012.

I think there are two different things. Fab isn't to blame for the issue regarding the paper and e-mails that I can't imagine he was directly aware about. Which is what Boeheim has always said and said again on his show this week. The other issue is that Fab spent a good amount of time drinking at Chuck's and he was considered someone who wasn't focused on the school aspect of things in general. I feel like this was somewhat a general opinion that was accepted even before his academic problems reared their head and I think that is peoples issue. I personally don't pass judgment because I remember how much drinking I did in college and I feel like I could have studied a lot more. I believe the people that hold Fab responsible feel like something like this was bound to happen because of his level of importance to the team and he should have not put people in the position to have to do these things to keep him on the court. Obviously you hold the people accountable who broke the rules and that wasn't Fab. I personally think Fab gets a bad rap and I think many of things he did would have been fine (partying and not focusing as much on class) if he had been an American kid who spoke English as his first language. Unfortunately he didn't and he needed to be going above and beyond to learn the language and do good in school as well as play basketball. That is easy for me to say though as that is a very hard thing for a kid that age.

 

[721Comstock]

I think there are two different things. Fab isn't to blame for the issue regarding the paper and e-mails that I can't imagine he was directly aware about. Which is what Boeheim has always said and said again on his show this week. The other issue is that Fab spent a good amount of time drinking at Chuck's and he was considered someone who wasn't focused on the school aspect of things in general. I feel like this was somewhat a general opinion that was accepted even before his academic problems reared their head and I think that is peoples issue. I personally don't pass judgment because I remember how much drinking I did in college and I feel like I could have studied a lot more. I believe the people that hold Fab responsible feel like something like this was bound to happen because of his level of importance to the team and he should have not put people in the position to have to do these things to keep him on the court. Obviously you hold the people accountable who broke the rules and that wasn't Fab. I personally think Fab gets a bad rap and I think many of things he did would have been fine (partying and not focusing as much on class) if he had been an American kid who spoke English as his first language. Unfortunately he didn't and he needed to be going above and beyond to learn the language and do good in school as well as play basketball. That is easy for me to say though as that is a very hard thing for a kid that age.

I didn't have a D1 hoops scholarship for SU, but when I was a Soph, I got a 1.4 GPA my first semester.
Drinking, doing other stuff, homesick, hated my major, thought about transferring; classes and grades were the last thing on my mind then.

And that's as a native, English speaking kid who got really good grades in HS (I had a National Merit scholarship, which got torched after the above-mentioned 1.4) -
can't imagine being a foreign-born, ESL kid trying to get thru college, while also playing D1 hoops at the highest level.