DePaul senior Cleveland Mevlin no longer with school
By Joe Nardone
Jan 9, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; DePaul Blue Demons forward Cleveland Melvin (12) reacts during the second half against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse. DePaul won 99-94 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports
The DePaul Blue Demons haven’t had a good week since Cleveland Melvin first enrolled in the school in 1937. Okay. I am kidding, obviously. But there is certainly some strange, sad news coming out concerning those two parties.
In a statement released yesterday, DePaul announced that Melvin is no longer enrolled in the school.
Head coach, Oliver Purnell, would not say as to why Melvin left the school. He would say, however, that he couldn’t comment on it because of “player privacy rights” and things of that nature. Which is fair and probably better off for both DePaul and Melvin.
For those of you unaware, while DePaul has been a Big East Conference bottom-feeder since Purnell took over (and even before that), Cleveland Melvin was a bright spot among dark souls the last four years. Melvin — a former Big East Freshman of the Year — was a productivity legend of sorts. Sure, DePaul might stink worse than four-day-old underwear, but Melvin would get them 17 points without even trying.
Melvin is mostly thought to go undrafted in this year’s NBA Draft. Not finishing out his senior season is certainly not swell for his pro aspirations.
I’m not sure what this means for Melvin, but it is pretty easy to see what it does to DePaul going forward.