Cleveland Rocks

UConn has received a verbal commitment from Cleveland Melvin, a 6-7 Class of 2010 power forward who plays at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass. He's a Baltimore native who played at Lake Clifton High, as well as with the Cecil Kirk AAU program that has delivered numerous players (Reggie Lewis, Rudy Gay, etc.) to Jim Calhoun over the years.

Melvin is a high-energy player with terrific athletic skills and great ability around the rim.

"That's what separates him from other kids," said third-year Notre Dame Prep coach Ryan Hurd. "He's got a ton of bounce, he finishes extremely hard at the rim."

Melvin made an unofficial visit to UConn on First Night (Oct. 16) and an official on the weekend of Nov. 7-8, taking in the Huskies' exhibition game with UMass Lowell. He had also visited DePaul earlier, and had more visits slated -- including one to Seton Hall this weekend.

But he surprised Hurd and decided to commit to UConn on Thursday.

"He's excited," Hurd said. "He's a great kid, laughs all the time -- 90 percent of the time he doesn't even know what he's laughing at."

Hurd said that Melvin is at about 200 pounds right now and is responding well to the school's strength and conditioning program. He'd like to see him continue to get a little bulkier, as well as work on his shooting range.

"I'd like to see his jump shot become more consistent, all the way to the arc," Hurd said. "He's working on stretching his jump shot out. He's a huge fan of the dunk shot, and we're trying to expand that."

Melvin is on-target academically.