Fabricio de Melo was a center on the Syracuse University basketball team. He was born and raised in Brazil.

Melo would come to Syracuse as a McDonald's All-American, though he played only one year of high school basketball in the United States, and only learned to play basketball at the age of 15.

There were high expectations of Melo his freshman year. He was the Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year. However, he quickly showed that he was not ready for the collegiate game. Melo picked up fouls very quickly, had a tough time getting to any rebounds, and had a tough time moving up and down the court. He would find his playing time limited to 5-6 minutes a game. Melo would also aggravate his achilles tendon, which would also hamper his game. He started the first 24 games of the season, but would miss a couple of games due to failing to show up to practice, and would be replaced in the starting lineup by classmate Baye Keita, who had outplayed Melo all year anyhow.

Melo would start to show signs of development at the end of the season when he scored 10 points in a win over DePaul. He then had his best game of the year in the Big East Tournament with 12 points in the win over St. John's. Most impressive was that Jim Boeheim left Melo on the floor during the crunch time of the game, and Melo responded with some excellent defense and smart passing. Melo did not show anything during the remaining three games of the post season, but in those two games he did display some of his potential.

Melo started his sophomore year with much better conditioning than his freshman year. He was able to run the court much better, log more playing time, and more importantly stay out of rapid foul trouble. His defensive presence in the middle sparked the Syracuse defense which dominated opposing offenses. He would have 10 blocked shots in a dominating game by the Orange over Seton Hall.

Eligibility issues arose surrounding Melo after the first semester, and the team suspended him for three games, while academic issues were investigated. The Syracuse defense definitely struggled without Melo in the middle, with a lopsided loss to Notre Dame, and a close victory over West Virginia. Melo would return and the Syracuse defense once again was in synch, dominating teams down the stretch.

Unfortunately eligibility issues would arise again, this time after the conclusion of the Big East Tournament. Melo was declared ineligible by Syracuse University for the NCAA playoffs, and would not play any of those games. The loss of the big man would hurt the Orange as the tournament progressed. Later on, Melo's transgressions would play a part in the NCAA penalties applied to the Orange.

Melo would announce later in the spring that he was entering the NBA draft. Melo was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft, with the 22nd overall pick by the Boston Celtics. Melo would spend most of his rookie year in the D-League.

Melo would be traded by the Celtics to the Memphis Grizzlies after his rookie year for former Orangeman Donte' Greene. He was cut from Memphis later that season and would never play in in the NBA again.

Melo would return to Brazil and play professional basketball there. He would die unexpectedly in his sleep in February 2017.

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