The Blue Zone will be running a summer series bringing you the latest on some of Duke basketball’s former stars. This week, The Blue Zone takes a look at Lee Melchionni.
During his Duke basketball career, Lee Melchionni was the consummate role player. Whether it was knocking down a big shot from beyond the arc, crashing the boards or playing tough defense, the 6-foot-6 forward was ready to step up whenever his team needed him throughout his four years in Durham.
"It was an incredible experience to be a part of something bigger than myself at Duke, and be a part of some great teams that won ACC championships and went to a Final Four—that's something you dream about as a kid," Melchionni said.
After playing sparingly in his first two collegiate seasons, Melchionni started 14 games during his junior year, averaging 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc. After averaging 5.7 points per game during his senior season, Melchionni decided to pursue a basketball career overseas, signing a contract with Cimberio Novara of Italy's Legadue Basket, the nation's second basketball division.
But before the end of his senior season, Melchionni met sports agent Arn Tellem, who came to Duke's campus to court Melchionni's classmates, rising stars J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams. It was meeting Tellem that piqued Melchionni's intrest in becoming a sports agent.
"I thought to myself, 'I've seen the movie Jerry Maguire—I can go do that,'" Melchionni said. "That's how it all got started for me."
Faced with a new culture, new language and a more physical brand of basketball, Melchionni's transition to Italian life was not an easy one. It is a struggle that a number of young American players face when playing overseas for the first time.
"It can be extremely lonely," Melchionni said. "You have 20 free hours a day outside of practice and conditioning. You're over there by yourself, and I was in a smaller town where very few people spoke English. You're thrown in the pool and it's sink or swim."
Melchionni averaged 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in the 2006-07 season, playing 17.1 minutes per contest in his first Italian campaign.
It would be his last as well. As the season drew to a close, Melchionni received a call from Tellem, offering him a job at Wasserman Media Group. He returned home that summer to begin his new career.
After spending his entire life as a basketball player, Melchionni was forced to transition to life as a sports agent, which he would soon realize was markedly different from how he had seen it on the silver screen.
"You're a friend, a motivator, an advisor, a contract negotiator and sometimes you're just there to listen," Melchionni said. "You wear many hats as an agent and fill many roles. I think what surprised me was the versatility associated with this job."
Melchionni continues to work for Wasserman Media Group in Los Angeles, where he also earned a law degree at Loyola Marymount University. He works with dozens of NBA players, including Kendrick Perkins, Byron Mullens, Tiago Splitter and Danilo Gallinari, as well as a number of top overseas players.
Among his clients are former Blue Devils Gerald Henderson and Shelden Williams, who was Melchionni's roommate for four years at Duke. Melchionni remains connected to the Blue Devil program, and visited with the Duke staff on a recent stop in Durham.
"I still get goosebumps every time I step back on campus," Melchionni said. "You graduate, and you become a former Duke basketball player, but you never really leave. It's fun to stay in touch with the guys who have played after me, and it truly is a family."
With next week's NBA Draft approaching, Melchionni expects to see a number of his clients drafted in the first round. Melchionni has worked with a number of top prospects, including Louisville's Gorgui Dieng, Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk, Kansas' Jeff Withey, North Texas' Tony Mitchell, Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Pittsburgh's Steven Adams, Marquette's Vander Blue, Detroit's Ray McCallum, Davidson's Jake Cohen and Missouri's Alex Oriakhi.
A long journey for Melchionni has come full circle. After beginning his own professional basketball career nearly seven years ago, he has found a way to help others break into the professional ranks.
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