As his father did before him, Kiyan Anthony will play college basketball at Syracuse. Anthony, 17, is the son of Carmelo Anthony, who cemented his legend with the Orange by leading them to a national championship as a freshman in 2002-03.
Anthony, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, New York, is rated as the No. 48 player nationally by Rivals and No. 15 at his position.
At the summer National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 Camp, Antonio averaged 28.5 points per game to top all players. In the spring, he averaged 19.6 points for Team Melo on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Syracuse offered Anthony a scholarship two years ago, along with 17 other schools including Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Rutgers, Auburn, USC, Arizona State and Ohio State. He officially announced his choice on Carmelo’s podcast, “19:00 in Brooklyn,” on Friday.
“At the end of the day, only one could be left,” said Kiyan, with his mother also on the show for the big announcement. “And with that said, I will be committing to Syracuse University.”
In the podcast, Carmelo dismissed the idea that his son will face pressure to live up to his father’s legacy at Syracuse.
“My message to him was, don’t be afraid of it, embrace it,” he said. “The guys who looked at me, who looked at me, are not your fans. You have an opportunity to create a whole new fan base. My [time] it was 20 years ago. … You have a new fan base, you have a new energy.”
However, fans and media will be sure to bring up Carmelo’s accomplishments in Syracuse before Kiyan begins his college career. During his only season with the Orange, Carmelo averaged 22.2 points and 10 rebounds per game as Syracuse finished 30-5 and won the program’s first national title.
He went on to play 19 seasons in the NBA, averaging 22.5 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.
