For Immediate Release: 11/25/09
Contact: Pete Moore
Four Sign Men’s Basketball Letters-of-Intent With Syracuse
SYRACUSE, N.Y- Syracuse head men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim has announced that C.J. Fair, Baye Moussa Keita, Fabricio (Fab) de Melo, and Dion Waiters have signed National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play for the Orange next season.
Fair, a Baltimore product who attends Brewster Academy (N.H.), is a 6-8 forward. He is rated the 45th-best prospect in the Class of 2010 by Rivals.com, 48th by Scout.com and 59th by ESPNU. Fair began his high-school career at Baltimore City College. As a sophomore, he earned All-Metro honors after helping his squad to the state semifinals. Fair averaged 20.3 points and six rebounds per outing. Fair was slowed during his junior campaign by knee surgery he had during the summer. He played AAU with the Baltimore Stars, coached by Duane Davis.
Keita is enrolled at Oak Hill Academy (Va.), where he plays for veteran Coach Steve Smith. He is a 6-10 forward who is from Senegal. Following his sophomore season, he participated in the Jordan Brand Classic’s International Game at Madison Square Garden and the Nike Global Challenge in Portland. He is rated the 19th-best center by Scout.com.
A number of other former SU players, including Carmelo Anthony and Eric Devendorf, competed at Oak Hill Academy.
de Melo, a 7-0, 267-pound center, is a native of Brazil who is attending Sagemont (Fla.) High School. He is ranked fifth overall and second among centers in the Class of 2010 according to Rivals.com. Scout.com has de Melo rated 25th overall and third among centers. The ESPNU ratings had him 20th overall and second among centers. His high school coach is Adam Ross. de Melo did not start playing basketball competitively until the ninth grade. He was a member of the Brazilian 17-and-under national team. He transferred into the Florida High School Athletic Association a year ago and had to sit out a season. He is eligible this winter. de Melo participated at the King James Classic last spring with the AAU Florida Rams. He earned first-team honors at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp conducted at the University of Virginia.
Waiters is a 6-3 guard at Life Center Academy (N.J.) and the cousin of current Syracuse performer Scoop Jardine. He attended South Kent School (Conn.) for one year before enrolling at Life Center Academy. Waiters missed his junior campaign with an ankle injury. He is listed as the 14th-best recruit and the third-best shooting guard in the Class of 2010 by ESPNU. Waiters is also ranked 18th overall and fifth among shooting guards by Scout.com and 29th by Rivals.com. Waiters participated in the LeBron James Skills Academy during the summer.
ESPN’s Scout Inc. rated the Syracuse class as the fourth-best in the nation behind Memphis, Ohio State and North Carolina. Scout.com also ranked the Syracuse class fourth overall.
The National Letter-of-Intent program was started in 1964. Administered by the Collegiate Commissioners Association (CCA), the program was designed with prospective student-athletes in mind. A signed letter-of-intent indicates a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the designated college or university for one academic year. Institutions agree to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year to the student-athlete, provided the student-athlete is admitted to the institution and is eligible for financial aid under NCAA rules.