MBB : Melo to return to roster for St. John’s game
UPDATED: Feb. 2, 11:38 a.m.
Syracuse center Fab Melo has been reinstated and will be eligible to play against St. John’s Saturday after missing three straight games, the Syracuse athletics department confirmed in a statement Thursday.
‘Sophomore Fab Melo will return to the Syracuse University men’s basketball playing roster beginning this Saturday against St. John’s in Madison Square Garden,’ the statement said.
Melo has not played since Jan. 16 due to an unspecified academic issue.
Melo tweeted Wednesday, ‘Can somebody tell @scoopjardine that #lobcity is back.’ Syracuse’s senior point guard Scoop Jardine has connected with the sophomore center on alley-oop plays many times throughout the year.
Melo did not travel with the team on its most recent road trip, a two-game swing against Notre Dame and Cincinnati. He wore street clothes on the bench in Syracuse’s win over West Virginia on Saturday. The sophomore center leads the Orange with 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game.
With Melo out, freshman Rakeem Christmas slid into the starting center spot from his usual place as the starting power forward. Sophomore C.J. Fair took over Christmas’ old starting position while sophomore Baye Keita saw significantly more playing time coming off the bench.
SU went 2-1 without Melo, suffering its only loss of the season against the Fighting Irish. Melo has been practicing with the team throughout the two-week period.
Given university policy and federal student privacy laws, the athletic department could provide no other details about the matter, the athletic department’s statement said.
Published on February 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm
