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His decision caught many by surprise. Months later, it continues to be debated on talk radio, basketball podcasts, and internet forums. There’s a belief Kiyan Anthony would have been better off playing college hoops at a school other than the one where his famous dad launched his Hall-of-Fame career.
The pressure on Carmelo Anthony’s kid will be enormous the instant the 18-year-old freshman takes the floor for Syracuse University’s regular-season opener against visiting Binghamton on November 3. Expectations will be through the JMA Wireless Dome roof as the offspring of the man who led the Orange men to their only NCAA national basketball championship in 2003 seeks to carve a legacy of his own.
We’re about to see if the son also rises.
“The pressure would have been there regardless,’’ Kiyan said recently at SU’s basketball media day. “Even if I went to a D-3 school, it still would have been there. I can’t run from it. I’ve just got to embrace it.”
The scrum with reporters was being held in the building where he practices everyday — the spiffy south campus complex known as the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center. Reminders of Kiyan’s dad were everywhere — from the huge black letters bearing his name on the building’s entrance to the numerous photos, jerseys, and banners festooning the Orange hoops museum in the hallway outside the massive gym.
“It’s super surreal, coming in here every day and seeing my dad’s name on all those things,’’ he admits. “But that only motivates me to work hard every day and not provide any excuses. Believe me, I know he set a high standard to follow.”
As a precocious freshman 22 seasons ago, a young man known as “Melo” put the program on his broad shoulders, averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds a game while delivering legendary coach Jim Boeheim his only national title. The elder Anthony spent just one season at the Cuse before embarking on a professional career that saw him become the 10th all-time leading scorer in NBA history, a three-time Olympic gold-medalist, and a Naismith Basketball Hall-of-Fame inductee.
To expect Kiyan to duplicate that kind of success is ludicrous. But that doesn’t mean he can’t put his own stamp on the Syracuse program. He’s well aware Cuse wasn’t ranked going into his father’s freshman year. Prognostications are similarly low for this year’s team, which is trying to break a four-year, NCAA tournament drought, the school’s longest March Madness dry spell since Richard Nixon’s first term in the White House.
“Everybody’s been working hard since summer workouts started because we want to make the tournament this year,’’ he said. “I’m definitely looking forward to having a lot of good games and winning a lot because how we do as a team is ultimately how I’m going to be judged.”
As Kiyan addressed question after question from the wave of reporters for nearly 40 minutes last week, he came across as thoughtful and level-headed, exuding charm reminiscent of his famous father two decades earlier. These comparisons to his dad have been going on since he started dribbling and shooting a basketball as a wee lad. At 6-foot-5, Kiyan is three inches shorter than his father and is more of an outside player, though he is a good ball-handler who can drive hard to the basket if need be. One thing Kiyan definitely inherited from Carmelo is the ability to score.
A 2025 graduate of Long Island Lutheran High School, the younger Anthony comes to Syracuse as the top recruit in New York State and the No. 32 recruit nationally. He’s part of an impressive freshman class that includes Sadiq White, a 6-foot-9 forward who was a top-20 prospect, and Luke Fennell, a sharp-shooter from Australia. Add in returning veterans J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman, and the influx of six transfers, including standout point guard Naithan George (Georgia Tech) and small forward Nate Kingz (Oregon State), and Coach Adrian Autry has the makings of a team that should improve greatly on last year’s 14-19 record.
Where the freshmen fit in remains to be seen, but expect Anthony and White to see numerous minutes, either as starters or sixth and seventh men. “It hasn’t been determined, but we’ll find out soon,’’ said Anthony, who will make his Orange debut in an exhibition game Saturday on the road against the University at Buffalo. “Our team’s versatility is an asset. We’ve got athletic guys. We’ve got shooters. We’ve got down-hill, to-the-basket drivers. I think my game is an ideal match, regardless what kind of lineup Coach Autry puts out there.”
Although he will be busy working as an NBA studio analyst for NBC and Peacock, Carmelo plans to be in the stands for most of his son’s games. Kiyan’s cool with that. In fact, his close relationship with his Brooklyn-based family was one of the reasons he chose SU over numerous basketball powerhouses seeking his services. “Syracuse is close to home, so I can get back on weekends,’’ he said. “My dad’s history here also was a factor. Dad loves the place and talked to me about what it meant to him. But he never pushed me here. He left the final decision completely up to me. I just felt like this was the best place. It felt more family-oriented here to me.”
His father’s only advice to him was to “work hard and understand that there are going to be ups and downs along the way.”
While playing for Lutheran and in elite showcase tournaments like the Michael Jordan Classic, Kiyan learned how to shut out the noise and not let the negativity pull him down. “I’ve seen it all,’’ he said. “I’ve seen all the negative comments. Had people coming up to me and getting in my face; people throwing stuff at me. So, if I go into Duke and they are saying stuff, I already know what [to expect]. I’ve been in high-intensity places before … highly charged environments.”
It all comes with the territory of following in the sneaker steps of his famous dad. The ridicule Kiyan will have to endure, particularly during these nasty, coarse times, would have happened whether he was playing in Syracuse or Hootersville. So, rather than run from the pressure, he’s embracing it. He’s proud of his old man but also wants to be his own man.
“I’m going to try to do whatever I can to uphold the family name,” he said.
Best-selling author and nationally honored journalist Scott Pitoniak is the Rochester Business Journal sports columnist.
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