Feb Melo, the former Syracuse star center and first-round NBA draft pick, passed away at the age of 26 in his native Brazil on Saturday.
According to a report from Brazil, the 7-foot center died in his sleep. He was living with his mother and two sisters.
“We don’t know the cause yet,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN. “It’s so hard right now, so hard to believe. It’s a sad, sad day.”
Melo was selected by the Celtics with the 22nd overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, but he failed to stick in Boston. He was traded to the Grizzlies in the summer of 2013 and then waived. He bounced around the NBA D-League and returned home to play professionally in Brazil.
Melo was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year his sophomore season, helping Syracuse to a 34-3 record, but was ruled ineligible for the 2012 NCAA Tournament for academic reasons. He reportedly claimed that he was failing because he couldn’t understand English. An NCAA investigation a few years later concluded that the school attempted to get his grades changed in order to keep him eligible. All 34 wins from that year were vacated.
“He was a really good kid, and it’s not fair that he will be defined by one thing, a 10-page paper,” Boeheim said. “He worked his tail off to become a really good player, and was a nice kid.”
“Sad news for Brazilian basketball,” his Brazilian basketball team wrote on Twitter in Portuguese on Saturday. “We lost a giant #RIPFabMelo”