The Huskies nabbed their third prospect for the Class of 2010, getting a commitment from Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.) power forward Cleveland Melvin, according to The Baltimore Sun and several other media outlets.
Melvin, who shockingly neither has an afro nor has ever played in the ABA, chose UConn and the undeniable force that is Coach Cal over DePaul, Memphis, Seton Hall and South Florida. He joins Jeremy Lamb and Michael Bradley as UConn '10 commits.
Scout.com has the 6-8 Melvin as a three-star and the 40th-best PF, Rivals has never heard of him and ESPN.com grades him a 40, the equivalent to Rivals rating someone they know nothing about a two-star.
Not too many videos of him in action, but Melvin did average 17 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks a game for Lake Clifton (Baltimore) as a senior in 2008-09. And from the clip above, he seems to know how to slamma-jam. Plus, we can call him "The Steamer," and that's all I need to get behind this move.
His former AAU coach, Anthony Lewis (who also coached Rudy Gay), had some glowing things to say about him to The Sun. Although, he obviously has a bit of a bias:
"I think his style of play [fits well at UConn]," Lewis said. "He has almost freakish athleticism. He just has really, really good athleticism. And you couple that with the ability to get to the bucket, put it on the floor and knock down the mid-range shot, and he’s just a natural fit for an up-tempo type of team. He’s also long and can guard the perimeter, so he gets out. I see him as a 3-man, maybe a 3/4 in that set. He just has that ability. He’s worked very hard to expand his game beyond the mid-range. So I see him doing very well [at UConn]."
And Melvin seems pretty pumped by the decision :
"It was kind of hard to choose because a lot of colleges were recruiting me heavy," Melvin said. "But at the end, I chose UConn because it’s ... just a great staff and has great coaches. They support me, they just love me and have so much respect for me."
Well, unless you screw up. In that case they'll force you out of the program and put you on waivers. But I like your 'tude, Steamer.