Syracuse head basketball coach Jim Boeheim says it is ridiculous to believe that Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin will not be able to play together.

“For somebody to assert that Carmelo Anthony can’t play with somebody it’s the most ridiculous thing that I’ve ever heard. I’ve heard a few now, but of all the statements I’ve ever heard that’s the most ridiculous,” Boeheim, Anthony’s former college coach said in an interview with ESPN.

Anthony, the Knicks franchise player, has missed nearly two-weeks with an injury. In that time, Lin, a previously unknown bench player, has played at an All-Star level, helping the Knicks win seven games in a row.

Lin has averaged 24.4 points, 9.1 assists per game in those starts.

The 20-0 Syracuse Orange put their undefeated record on the line this weekend as they begin a road swing at Notre Dame and Cincinnati, and they’ll be without a key player. Center Fab Melo is staying home due to academic reasons, according to ESPN’s Andy Katz.

A source told Katz that Melo is out “due to an unresolved academic issue from the first semester.” Citing school policy and federal student privacy laws, the university declined to give any further details.

The Orange open their three-game road trip against the the Fighting Irish at 6 p.m. ET. The university is hoping to clear the issue up by next week, when the team returns home. Syracuse plays host to West Virginia next Saturday, Jan. 28.

“It’s obviously a big loss in the middle,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said to Syracuse Sports Network’s Matt Park. “We’re hoping that Fab can get back. We have to clear some hurdles. We feel very strongly about our team. Everybody’s going to have to work a little bit harder on the boards. We’ll be ready.”

Two men who claimed they were sexually abused by Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine will reportedly file a civil suit over the matter, sources have told ESPN. The suit will reportedly name head coach Jim Boeheim and the University itself among the defendants.

The two former Orangemen ball boys, Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, have accused Fine, who until recently served as an assistant coach under Boeheim at Syracuse, of sexually abusing them in the 1980s. It was reported last week that Fine could not be charged for the allegations of child abuse levied against him because the statute of limitations for the crimes had run out.

When the news first broke about the accusations against Fine, Boeheim adamantly defended his longtime assistant, stating that the accusers were out for money.

“The Penn State thing came out and the kid behind this is trying to get money. He’s tried before. And now he’s trying again,” Boeheim said several weeks ago. “If he gets this, he’s going to sue the university and Bernie. What do you think is going to happen at Penn State? You know how much money is going to be involved in civil suits? I’d say about $50 million. That’s what this is about. Money.”

He later apologized for his comments about the accusers intentions, stating that he “misspoke very badly.”

Syracuse head basketball coach Jim Boeheim sounded a dramatically different tone regarding the child molestation scandal swirling around former assistant coach Bernie Fine following the team’s win over Florida on Friday, according to Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com.

When the allegations against Fine first surfaced, Boeheim threw his full support behind his longtime assistant; he has since distanced himself from that, but Boeheim’s postgame comments on Friday represented a new level of contrition.

“I believe I misspoke very badly in my response to the allegations that have been made,” Boeheim said, according to a series of tweets from Norlander (1, 2).  ”I shouldn’t have questioned what the accusers expressed/their motives. I’m really sorry I did that and regret any harm I caused. It was insensitive to (ppl) involved.”

Norlander, along with WTVH news anchor Michael Benny and several others tweeting from the postgame presser, painted a picture of a coach who was sincere in his changed opinion, and who had been swayed as more information came to light in the case.

“What i said last week was out of loyalty,” Boeheim said, according to Norlander. “I reacted without thinking. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”

Syracuse University chancellor Nancy Cantor gave Orange head coach Jim Boeheim her verbal support while speaking with state officials in Albany on an unrelated matter, according to a report by the Associated Press. Boeheim has been under fire after long-time assistant coach Bernie Fine was fired amidst a sexual abuse investigation.

“Coach Boeheim is our coach; he’s getting the team ready tonight,” Cantor said Tuesday. “We’re very pleased with what he said Sunday night, and we stand by it.”

Syracuse played Eastern Michigan Tuesday night. Boeheim took the floor to a standing ovation from the Carrier Dome crowd.

Boeheim initially said that the accusers were lying and in search of a cash settlement. He has since backed off those statements considerably.

“What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated and that anyone with information be supported to come forward so that the truth can be found,” Boeheim said after Fine, who has continually denied the allegations, was fired. “I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse.”

When news of accusations of child sexual abuse against Syracuse basketball assistant coach Bernie Fine first surfaced, head coach Jim Boeheim issued a statement ending with the assertion that Fine “has my full support.”  Following the university’s dismissal of Fine on Saturday, and the additional allegations that have emerged from a 2002 audio recording of Fine’s wife, Boeheim has issued a new statement on the university’s Facebook page, with a decidedly different tone:

The allegations that have come forth today are disturbing and deeply troubling. I am personally very shocked because I have never witnessed any of the activities that have been alleged. I believe the university took the appropriate step tonight. What is most important is that this matter be fully investigated and that anyone with information be supported to come forward so that the truth can be found. I deeply regret any statements I made that might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse.

Fine has been accused of sexual abuse by three separate individuals; the most recent allegations stem from an audio conversation, brought to light by ESPN’s Outside The Lines on Sunday, that Fine’s wife had with one of the accusers in 2002 in which Laurie Fine appears to acknowledge her awareness that the incidents had occurred.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim adamantly defended his longtime assistant coach Bernie Fine against the child molesting allegations that have emerged from two former Orangemen ball boys, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

According to Boeheim, one of the most respected head coaches in college basketball, the accusers are lying:

“This is alleged to have occurred … what?” Boeheim told the Post-Standard Thursday. “Twenty years ago? Am I in the right neighborhood? It might be 26 years ago? So, we are supposed to what? Stop the presses 26 years later? For a false allegation? For what I absolutely believe is a false allegation? I know he’s lying about me seeing him in his hotel room. That’s a lie. If he’s going to tell one lie, I’m sure there’s a few more of them.”

When asked what motivation the accusers would have to lie about the allegations, Boeheim told the Post-Standard that they were doing it for a potential financial gain:

“Here’s why,” Boeheim said. “The Penn State thing came out and the kid behind this is trying to get money. He’s tried before. And now he’s trying again. If he gets this, he’s going to sue the university and Bernie. What do you think is going to happen at Penn State? You know how much money is going to be involved in civil suits? I’d say about $50 million. That’s what this is about. Money.”

Syracuse University reportedly conducted an investigation to allegations of sexual misconduct by Fine “years ago” but were unable to find witnesses who could corroborate the allegations. Several media outlets also have stated that they investigated similar allegations in 2003, but found there was no independent evidence to prove them to be true.