Former Syracuse center Fab Melo dies at 26
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Fab Melo, a native of Juiz de Fora, Brazil, and former SU center, was selected with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. He died in Brazil on Saturday at age 26.
Former Syracuse center Fab Melo died in his home country of Brazil Saturday, per The New York Times’ Adam Zagoria. Melo was 26 years old and playing professionally in Brazil.
According to SporTV, Melo was found dead in his home.
Melo played for SU from 2010-12 before being selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics. He won Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2012, but was ruled ineligible for the 2012 NCAA Tournament for academic reasons. He averaged 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in over 25 minutes per game his sophomore year.
I'm very sorry to hear about the passing of Fab Melo. He was a kind, genuine person who was committed to doing his best while he was at …
— Jim Boeheim (@therealboeheim) February 12, 2017
Syracuse. Our staff and his teammates were fortunate to have had the opportunity to know Fab. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
— Jim Boeheim (@therealboeheim) February 12, 2017
Perhaps Melo’s biggest mark left at Syracuse was his role in the lengthy NCAA investigation, which head coach Jim Boeheim explained two years ago. Most notoriously, Melo had a paper written for him that played a role in the eventual punishment handed to SU by the NCAA.
“He was a really good kid, and it’s not fair that he will be defined by one thing: a 10-page paper,” Boeheim told ESPN.com. “He worked his tail off to become a really good player and was a nice kid. We don’t know the cause yet. It’s so hard right now, so hard to believe. It’s a sad, sad day.”
Melo was one of five former SU players revealed as ones that factored into Syracuse vacating 101 wins, as he was responsible for 33 vacated games.
Published on February 11, 2017 at 8:17 pm
Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman
