Yep, Fab Melo to Syracuse

by Mike Rutherford on Aug 4, 2009 3:51 PM EDT in Basketball Comment 20 comments

Confirmed by a host of national media members.

A big, big blow for the Cards.

Damnit.

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That F%$#ing sucks!

I guess SS and TJ will just have to be 4 year guys.

"You win some, You lose some but you never stop trying to do your best" Denny Crum

by DANCARD on Aug 4, 2009 3:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

it sucks but

he’d probably declare for the draft or go to Europe before putting on a Cardinal jersey anyways.

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 4, 2009 3:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

because we basically had all of our eggs in the Melo basket. We really have no backup options, and the guys who were once high on us (Joseph, Harris, etc.) have all softened on us it seems and moved on. This is the first I can remember Pitino putting so much time into one recruit, and getting beat like this. The 2009 class was an above average, but not great, class, and most of us were expecting 2010 to be another top 5. We had Tyler on board, and Martin and Langford were fast risers.

Tyler bolted, Martin decommitted (but was slipping anyway), and Langford has slipped, but is still on board. But hey, who cares when Fab Melo, a 7" beast and newly anointed top 5 prospect is supposed to be a lock? Oops. Now he’s gone.

What once seemed like a destined top 5 class now seems like it is going to be a very mediocre class. Its like on Christmas when you were 12 and were expecting a PlayStation and instead got a pair of dress pants. Yeah, they might look nice in a couple of years, but they’re dull and not at all what you wanted, and all your buddies got a PlayStation.

by npb1985 on Aug 4, 2009 4:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I hope

Pitino proves me wrong, though….geez

by npb1985 on Aug 4, 2009 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I asked santa for dress pants, a suit and a cell phone

got a super nintendo instead.

Pitino put a lot of time into other recruits that “beat” him by declaring for the NBA, Europe, etc…I’d rather Pitino get more dress pants for Christmas, he knows his way around slacks more than he does a Playstation. Besides, video games are fun for awhile but once you beat the game you move on. A good pair of slacks has great mileage and can even help you score.

PK, this f’n guy above just called you dull and compared you to a pair of dockers. You know what to do…

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 4, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nope

I never said Pitino can’t recruit, but nice job trying to spin it that way, and I love Preston as much as anyone, yet way to throw his name in for whatever reason. All I’m saying is right now…in this current state of things….it sucks. Why? Because were getting smoked in recruiting (so far). Because what once figured to be a no brainer top 5 class has fallen apart and in the mean time, “other” teams are getting top recruit after top recruit and it doesn’t exactly put a smile on anyone’s face, I know I’m not the only one. Can Pitino rebound from this? He has before with guys like Palacios and Jennings, so I’m hopeful he can. But this is a big hit losing out on Melo and if you don’t think it is, then I’d like to hear your reasons.

And what the hell are you talking about with the NBA, Europe stuff? There is a hell of a lot of difference between choosing pro ball over Pitino and UofL than there is picking a conference foe over Pitino and UofL. And those recruits who “beat” him as you say when they went pro COMMITTED here first. Melo committed to another school, not to play pro ball. If he decides to go Euro or turns out to be a bust, we can all point and laugh at Syracuse, but for now it stings a little. Plus, if we have recruits who help us “beat the game,” which translates to a championship, I’ll take them over the rest.

by npb1985 on Aug 4, 2009 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wasn't trying to spin you

honestly I was just being sarcastic; my post wasn’t meant as a serious argument to poke holes in your logic. But it is true that no matter how good he is, I don’t really care about one recruit or even one recruiting class. When Pitino stops competing for the Big East title every 2-3 years then I’ll worry.

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 5, 2009 5:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Apologies, you guys

Get your wins in this year while you can…

Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician - The Syracuse blog that cares.

by Sean Keeley on Aug 4, 2009 4:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Please!

Don’t put all of your wins on the back of one guy, especially when you have no one else. UofL will beat Syracuse again this year, just like it did last year, and just like it will in 2011.

by rednblackfan4life on Aug 4, 2009 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ha

You should take a look at the recruiting rankings in 2010. Syracuse might have the no1 class in the country after this big get. Your 2010 class pales in comparison. Syracuse and Lousiville will be close in talent next year, and it should be close. But after the 2010 comes in , Syracuse will be clearly more talented then Louis. Better recoup in 2011 or Louis is gunna fall behind.

by Upstait on Aug 4, 2009 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ZOMG!! You're right!

…clearly more stars mean more talented. we should just forfeit the game and try to beat teams that we can out-recruit like rutgers and miami. coaching and player development mean nothing when we can only dig up 3- and 4- star recruits. that’s it, i’m not renewing my ESPN FullCourt subscription in 2010, damnit.

and we absolutely should fire pitino and find someone who can recruit. Michael Chandler? Peyton Siva? Terrence Jennings? Samardo Samuels? Where did he find these guys, the local church leagues? Maybe Walz could pull double duty…

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 4, 2009 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nice get

On Melo. You got one over us. Congrats. Now we’ll just continue beating you up and down every year with him on your side rather than ours. Might want to check our 2011 class, by the way. Pitino got beat hard, unfortunately, for Melo. Even Tyson in his prime got knocked out by Buster Douglas. He’ll rebound. For reference see Louisville class of 2011. Sorry for my moment of panic above, fellow cards fans.

by npb1985 on Aug 4, 2009 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

exactly

2011 is shaping up nicely; in the HS recruiting world of ifs, Chandler can be everything that we think Melo might be. Plus Terrence and Samardo might stick around for 3-4 yrs; worked out for TWill & Earl…

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 5, 2009 5:59 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

RE: Apologies, you guys

Hey, thanks for the heads up, bro! Hopefully we can get our few wins in regulation…you know, so we don’t have any excuses for losing the next game.

Gravy and honeysuckles!

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 4, 2009 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dang

I very rarely get in a twist over recruits, but this player would have been great to have. This hurts the forthcoming class anyway you slice it.

Here’s to Boeheim, a hell of a great coach and a nice guy too.

I hope Terrence posterizes the boy.

by BR7 on Aug 5, 2009 12:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Meh

This comment may come back to bite me in 2 years, but everything I read about Melo was “showed flashes of why he will be great in 2 years, had 6 points and 4 rebounds but wowe with his potential.” I could just see this guy coming to UofL and Pitino giving two years of “he’s a project” quotes before a breakout junior season of 12.1, 6.5 a game.

Or he’s the second coming of Hakeem Olajuwon and I’m an idiot.

by CardsFan922 on Aug 5, 2009 6:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thought I was the only one

I’m just not upset by this. Maybe it’s just my CFB-related nonchalance showing.

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 5, 2009 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Im kinda with you as well

Part of me is pissed, our SECOND big man to go somewhere else-but honestly from what I read I got the same things-“project” player. We dont need anymore projects.

I wonder if Melo was thinking since hes is a one and done, probably didnt want to come in and try to compete for PT against established players like Samardo and TJ?

by twistedwedge on Aug 5, 2009 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

exactly

do we really need 2 more big man projects in ’10 and ’11?

by UL is my hot hot sex on Aug 6, 2009 4:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

His game...

He looks like a much bigger version of Samardo. He’s got really good touch and has a mid-range jumper, can also shoot free throws. He’s kinda slow and can’t go left too. He doesn’t dunk with nearly as much force as Samardo though. This is a really tough loss for us, hopefully we can at least get some sort of replacement.

by LiveCard on Aug 5, 2009 12:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs