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His two years at Syracuse were a roller coaster that started down, with a freshman season where he struggled to contribute consistently, to up with a sophomore season where he was the man in the middle on the nation's top ranked and last undefeated team, to back down when he was suspended for undisclosed reasons and missed the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. Melo's size and athleticism were impressive when he was on the court and it's hard to imagine anything would've kept the Orange out of the Final Four had he been available.
Melo will join fellow first round pick Jared Sullinger on a new front line for the Celtics who are in a bit of a transition with the possible departures of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Melo isn't a great offensive player, but likely won't need to be in Boston. He is, however, a stellar rebounder and shot blocker and both will come in handy right away.
Melo is now the fifth Big East player taken in the first round of tonight's draft.