After the news of Syracuse’s newest commitment was made public, Carmelo and his son celebrated with friends and family at a party held in Brooklyn, New York.
According to Syracuse.com’s Mike Waters, Carmelo took some time during the celebration to share a few of the ideas he has in mind for his former school and the community surrounding it.
Carmelo only played one season for the Orange back during the 2002-03 campaign. But during that time, he was able to help lead the Syracuse men’s basketball program to winning its one and only national championship.
So, even though Carmelo’s tenure at the school was brief, he will forever remain a legend in the eyes of the Orange fan base for the tremendous success he was able to help the school achieve.
Now, his son will attempt to live up to the massive expectations that will come with following in his father’s footsteps. But let’s not act like this is some sort of PR stunt; Kiyan is currently one of the top high-school basketball players in the country.
Among those in the 2025 class, he’s currently the No. 1 ranked player in the state of New York according to 247Sports.com’s latest rankings, and this blurb from ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi should give everyone a good idea about what Syracuse is getting in the younger Anthony.
The Orange are coming off a 2023-24 season in which they finished with a respectable 20-12 record, but they failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.
A similar fate could await Syracuse this season, but once Kiyan officially arrives for the 2025-26 campaign, the hope is that he can help the program get back to achieving a high level of success like they did when his father was at the school.