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Fab Melo, you were destined to wear an adorable husky dog on your pantaloons

Mega prospect Fab Melo pretty much has his choice of any school to attend next season. A 7-foot, 270-pound center from Weston (fla.) by way of Brazil,Melo is rated as Rivals' No. 2 center in the country and the No. 5 player in the entire class of 2010.

Naturally, UConn has made his final list, along with Louisville, Syracuse and Florida State, according to this fine piece by Adam Zagoria. But all signs point to Louisville and UConn being his final two.

The Cardinals may be able to provide him with all the Dapper Dan and mint juleps he could ever want, but Melo has all the making of a Coach Cal two-to-three-year project:

  • He's foreign and doesn't speak English well
  • He's tall
  • Is often described as "raw but talented"
  • First love was soccer and has only been playing basketball for a short time
  • A good shot-blocker
  • Obviously yearns to be a Big Eastie boy

Seriously? Last time I checked, players with those descriptions comprise at least a quarter of every UConn recruiting class.

Your name may induce nausea, Fab, but I'm willing to keep a bottle of Pepto-Bismol on me at all times as part of this deal. And as far as we know, this Melo has shown no distaste toward snitches (although I assume, like all of us, he believes they deserve stiches), so it's not too bad.

Fab, we anxiously await your decision. And finally being able to describe things as "fab" without questioning our sexuality a tiny bit.

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I’m pretty sure he’s one and done. He’s further along than Theebz, who would have been a top-10 pick in the draft after his freshman or sophmore years. Although when Cal gets “possible” one and dones (Gay, Chuckie V, Theebz), they usually stay.

I think it’s ridiculous not to go to Cal if you’re a quality big man. He’s one of the only college coaches that consistently develops them. NBA players/coaches are always bemoaning the lack of big man coaching in college basketball, and with good reason. Cal’s the outlier, though. I mean, he made Hilton Armstrong decent! Who does Pitino have? Nazr Mohammed? I’m pretty sure Tubby Smith coached Mohammed in his last year at KU, anyway.

Cal will funnel everything toward you for blocks; Pitino makes you the last line of defense on the press. IE, “Go stand by the basket!”

by gxpanos on Jul 10, 2009 9:51 AM EDT reply actions  

I agree with all that, except about Theebz being a top-10 pick before this season. The 2007 draft was stacked and he wasn’t even getting lottery looks.

In 2008, it’s more debatable. He might have been top 10, but seeing Brook Lopez at No. 10 makes me skeptical.

by Jesus Shuttlesworth on Jul 10, 2009 12:56 PM EDT reply actions  

Yeah, I guess you’re right. There was a lot of talk before his freshman year that he’d go pro pretty quick, and then everyone saw him play.

by gxpanos on Jul 10, 2009 3:17 PM EDT reply actions  

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