Melo and Jeremy Lin

Isn't it rather fitting that Syracuse's top recruit for the incoming Class of 2010 is named Melo?  Yes, Coach Jim Boeheim has inked 7-0 center Fabricio Melo of Brazil by way of Weston, Florida.  Melo is among the top two center prospects in the land and he shares the "melo" name of former Orange superstar Carmelo Anthony.

Syracuse has two of the top 20 prospects signed and sealed, while also have three of the top 60 recruits, according to ESPN U's Top 100.  North Carolina has verbals or has signed three in the top 20. For more info on Fabricio Melo, see the ESPN Insider recruiting file by clicking HERE.

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From Cambridge to the Bay Area and beyond, Harvard's Jeremy Lin is attracting attention much the same way as Stephen Curry did when he was playing for Davidson.

Lin hit the radar of many NCAA basketball fans when Harvard gave UConn a run for their money a few days after the Crimson beat BC at Chestnut Hill.

Today, after successful games at Seattle and Santa Clara during Harvard's west coast swing, the San Jose Mercury posted this story which is among its most emailed stories online.  See:  Lin

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Here's the story:

Jeremy Lin didn't want to think about all the fans who had crammed into the sold-out Leavey Center on Monday night.

But his Harvard teammates let him know anyway.

"They said it looks like Hong Kong," Lin said after Harvard defeated Santa Clara 74-66 in front of 4,700.

A nervous Lin didn't have his usual superb scoring game, getting only six points. But the senior sensation from Palo Alto High tied a career high with nine assists to help the Crimson (11-3) cruise past the Broncos, who lost their fourth in five games.

"When your senior leader scores six points in a road game and they win, that's why he's more than just the leading scorer," Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating said.

Former Stanford star Anthony Goods sounded like a lot of Bay Area fans on hand:

"I'm here for the Jeremy Lin Show," he said.

As much as he finds it embarrassing, Lin has become a show for the Asian-American community. Family and friends lingered after the game to hug and greet him.

"I've never had a game with more support than this," said Lin, who started the day averaging 18.3 points per game.

Many, like parents Shirley and Gie-Ming Lin, wore black T-shirts with the words "We Believe" on the front and the "Jeremy Lin Show" on the back.

Lin, a 6-foot-3 guard who leads the Crimson in scoring, rebounding, assists and three-point shooting, doesn't like to discuss the cultural phenomenon surrounding his basketball prowess.

But it was evident Monday night where the curious came out to see what the fuss was about.

Franklin Yee of San Francisco doesn't normally go to basketball games, particularly in the South Bay.

Yee's friend Tiger Wong got the word from his dentist.

Gie-Ming Lin took his son to the YMCA to play basketball when he was 5.

He picked basketball after watching NBA highlights, not because he someday hoped to make a point about stereotyping.

But the Taiwanese immigrant never imagined the adulation his son would receive for playing the sport.

Alvin Shen of Union City understands why.

"There's a lot of significance to it," said Shen, who attended church with Lin when they were kids. "It's a different kind of barrier. There's a lot of stigma even in this day and age. It seems silly."

It sure does to those who play with and against Lin.

Goods, who is scheduled to undergo hip surgery Wednesday after playing in the NBA Developmental League, worked out with Lin over the summer.

"He has improved so much," Goods said. "He'll play pro somewhere."

Lin made only 2 of 5 shots against Santa Clara but played solid defense and kept the offense active with his assists.

Freshman Kyle Casey benefited, scoring a season-high 27 points as Harvard won its fourth consecutive game. Christian Webster added 15 points.

Marc Trasolini led Santa Clara (8-9) with 22 points and Robert Smith added 14.