As the DePaul Blue Demons continue to live life without forward Cleveland Melvin, they’ve been in a steady decline as they’ve lost five straight without him and seven in a row overall. Wednesday’s 25-point loss to Villanova’s another sobering reminder of how much he meant to the program. They’re many unanswered questions. Why was he suspended? Did it a play a part in his departure? Why won’t the university comment on the issue?
Those questions may never be answered, but there’s one question that hasn’t been asked….. What will Cleveland Melvin’s next move be? Lost in all of the chaos is the fact that there’s now a young man who’s future’s in doubt. The plus side’s that Melvin’s experience gives him options. One option is to enter the NBA Draft.
He ranks among DePaul’s all-time greats in scoring, rebounding, field goals and blocked shots. He’s your prototypical small forward who can do everything on both ends of the floor. He’d be a welcome addition to any team. Another option’s to play in the NBA’s Developmental League. As talented as Melvin is, there are some who feel that he needs more development. The “D-League” would be a good platform for him to polish his game.
There’s also the chance that he could enroll at another school to complete his degree. From there the question’s whether or not he’ll ask the NCAA for a fifth-year of eligibility. Getting that fifth year will be difficult because of the suspension, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Hopefully the next few weeks will give us answers.
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He was suspended for criminal sexual assault and supposedly did so in a forcible manner on campus. You didn’t hear this from me, but this is from inside sources. A shame.
If that’s the case then why hasn’t he been arrested?
He played 3 &3/4 years at DePaul. How would he get another year of eligibility. Dou your research, dude. Awfully lazy work.
Do not dou.
If you’re just reading this story now, then you’re pretty far behind. If you read the story properly, you’ll see that I said that he could apply for a fifth year if he wanted to. That doesn’t mean he would have actually gotten it (but it was an option for him at the time). And he only played 3 and a half years give or take since he left the school before the season ended. A few weeks after I wrote the story, he was signed by the Erie Bayhawks of the D-League. So at this point it doesn’t look like he’ll be going back to finish his education.