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Meet Melvin Council

February 9, 2011 - Premier Basketball League (PBL)
Rochester RazorSharks News Release


He was just out of college looking for a place to play basketball. Melvin Council got into two preseason games with the Austin Toros of the NBA Developmental League. He got hurt. He got cut. Council was at a career crossroads.

He got a job playing for the Gary Steelheads in Indiana. You got paid in the IBL only if you played in a game. If you were injured or inactive, you were out of luck. And money.

"Sometimes I didn't know where my next meal was coming from," said Council. He was headed home.

In 2009 he caught on with the RazorSharks, who were on their way to their second straight Premier Basketball League championship. The Wilson High School grad got into only two games. He scored eight points. No one thought too much about him.

That changed last season. Council played in 19 games for Coach Rod Baker and was named the Sixth Man of the Year in the PBL. This season, despite the team's 2-6 start, he has been the RazorSharks best player.

"Melvin Council is playing the best out of the group," said Baker. "Not that it's unexpected, but it has become extremely necessary. I don't know where we'd be if he weren't playing as well as he is."

Ironically, Council doesn't start. He plays behind point guard Jerice Crouch. They compliment each other well, and Baker says he wouldn't trade them for any other guards in the league. The best part for Mel is being home again.

"It's great," said Council. "I get to play in front of my kids. My family had never seen me play before, just heard about me. I love it."

Council has two children, eight year old Melvin, Jr. and two year old Mel-Zyiha.

"They are what gets me up in the morning," says Council. "Looking at their faces knowing that I have to do what I have to do to provide for them."

Rochester hosts Kentucky at the Blue Cross Arena Saturday. Tip off at 1:05.

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