RIP Fab Melo.

[llandz]

Wow. How terribly sad.

 

[HOFCeluck]

FFS. So young. He was a huge part of the 2012 30-1 regular season and I'll never forget that.

 

[Jake]

Wow.

 

[Ragman2000]

Speechless. That's awful.

 

[bevosu]

Major bummer.

 

[samspann1]

RIP. So, so sad.

He's forever a part of the Cuse family.

 

[jncuse]

RIP big man.

I have never seen any player on Syracuse have such a positive change in impact from one year to the next (from 2011 to 2012). The issues are part of his story here, but there were so many positives in that 2012 season that I will remember fondly today.

 

[310Pigpen]

Wow. Was a huge fan despite everything that happened. So sad

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[NineOneSeven]

Wow... absolutely terrible, especially for someone so young.

 

[orangehomer]

Fab Melo passed away in Brazil per team source

that's a shame. godspeed Fab.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[Alsacs]

JB had good comments.
"He was a really good kid, and it's not fair that he will be defined by one thing, a 10-page paper," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN shortly after hearing Melo had died at his mother's house. "He worked his tail off to become a really good player, and was a nice kid."

"We don't know the cause yet," added a shaken Boeheim. "It's so hard right now, so hard to believe. It's a sad, sad day."

 

[two3zone]

Was a tough game, and while I was getting excited because the win was cemented already he busts out with this and got me more pumped. Will never forget that.

 

[Ajflood12]

Terrible news. If he hadn't been suspended that team was winning a national title. He was a block machine. Very unfortunate.

 

[Funk Doc]

I know you're very close to the program but with all of the details but from what I've seen and read it looks like Gross had a far worse impact than he did.

I enjoyed every one of the 30+ victorys that he was a part of, every charge he took in the lane, every block he sent away from our opponents.

Saint or not, we all have skeletons in our closets, some worse than others, but he was a very young man from a foreign country who was a star for an amazing basketball team and there is not one person on the board that would ever know what we would do with that stardom or responsibility.

Defensive player of the year, first round pick, top HS recruit, a lot happened with this kid in the matter of a couple of years.

My favorite season as a fan outside of our national championship was that season and I think that team was overall better, amazing memories and I'll always hold onto that.

I know he has a rep around here but he was one of the best centers we ever had, numbers back that up.

RIP Fab, thank you for that magical season.

Well said!

And I agree, that team was amazing, and I can only imagine the uproar if he didn't sit out the tourney! I have no doubt that with him in that lineup we were winning the whole thing!

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[310Pigpen]

Was a tough game, and while I was getting excited because the win was cemented already he busts out with this and got me more pumped. Will never forget that.

That is one of my favorite memories of that season! I find it so humorous for some reason.

 

[longislandcuse]

Fab Melo up there in the middle of the zone protecting the rim of that heavenly hoop.

 

[bpo57]

Goodman could have done without the penultimate paragraph in that story.

 

[PeteCalvin]

JB had good comments.
"He was a really good kid, and it's not fair that he will be defined by one thing, a 10-page paper," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN shortly after hearing Melo had died at his mother's house. "He worked his tail off to become a really good player, and was a nice kid."

"We don't know the cause yet," added a shaken Boeheim. "It's so hard right now, so hard to believe. It's a sad, sad day."

James Arthur Boeheim. Always the voice of reason. Damn I'll miss him when he is gone.

RIP Fab.

 

[Shark58]

RIP big guy. You will be remembered...

 

[DonLightfoot]

Oh my. RIP big fella

 

[raf4488]

I think my favorite Fab Melo game was the St. John's game in the BE tournament his freshman year. He had an unbelievable game out of nowhere, and it was a sign of things to come.

He was such a huge part of a really dominant, really fun SU team his sophomore year, and I'll always remember him erasing pretty much everything in the paint. Nobody could score on us in there, it was incredible.

RIP Fab. As someone just a couple of years older, 26 is way, way too young.

 

[NashvilleOrange]

I had to look it up but I do remember the 11-12 season you could really tell he turned the corner the first game of conference play. It was our first Big East game of the year where he had 10 blocks against Seton Hall.

Seton Hall vs. Syracuse - Game Recap - December 28, 2011 - ESPN

"A year ago as a raw freshman with little stamina, Fab Melo watched most of Seton Hall's stunning triumph over then-No. 9 Syracuse from the bench.

On Wednesday night, that was a distant memory.

Melo had a career-high 12 points and school-record 10 blocks and top-ranked Syracuse stifled Seton Hall at every turn in a 75-49 victory in the Big East opener for both teams."