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Kiyan Anthony commits to Syracuse, following in Carmelo’s footsteps
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Kiyan Anthony commits to Syracuse, following in Carmelo’s footsteps

Kiyan Anthony will follow in the footsteps of his famous father.

Kiyan, son of NBA great Carmelo Anthony and the No. 1-ranked high school player in New York state committed to Syracuse on Friday night, choosing the school his father led to the 2003 NCAA championship in his only year of college. Carmelo has been a big supporter of his former school, and the practice facility there is called the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.

Ranked No. 6 nationally as a shooting guard 247Sports.comalso listed Auburn and USC. It was thought before Rutgersamong other schools.

“I like the atmosphere (at Syracuse),” he said ZAGSBLOG this summer. “You know, obviously my dad went there 20 years ago, so I just love the atmosphere, I love the family environment. The coaches, I feel like they’re recruiting me for me and not just because of my dad. I like that. I feel like they are rebuilding and looking to get a winning team. I feel like I can help them do that if I were to go there.”

Kiyan received a scholarship offer from former Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim in 2022, and he and his father were first back then.

“It was nice because I know how much it meant to him,” Carmelo told ESPN in 2022. “Of course, it means a lot to me. But this is his journey, his journey will not be my journey and his path will not be my path. So whatever he wants to do, I just want him to enjoy it.”

Kiyan has since developed a relationship with current head coach Adrian Autry and his staff and visited campus again in 2023.

“Yes, the building is,” he said this summer. “Certainly with (assistant) coach Brenden (Straughn) at Syracuse, that’s really my main means of communication. But with coach Autry, he’s starting to contact me on a daily basis and he’s actually trying to recruit me. He’s been to all my games so far, so I’m just trying to build that relationship with him.”

A prolific scorer, Kiyan mediated 19.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game this summer with Team Melo on the Nike EYBL circuit.

At the prestigious NBA Top 100 camp, he scored 42 points on 15-of-28 shooting, including 4-of-9 from deep, in his first game. He continued CAUSE scoring camps with an average of 28.5 points in eight games.

USA Basketball youth coach Don Showalter said, “Kiyan has a great personality and is extremely coachable. His strengths are shooting with range, scoring at all three levels and (he) is a natural scorer. He can get his own shot almost at will. Kiyan has also shown that he can be a very good defender on and off the ball.”

Team Melo coach Jerard Rucker added, “It was a pleasure to coach Kiyan this past EYLB season and watch him grow from 8th grade. He has become a 3 level scorer and shoots the ball effortlessly. The way he dissects and manipulates the defense is incredible to watch. He will be special at the next level because he is a gym rat and a sponge when it comes to improvement. The sky is the limit for Kiy.”

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Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter covering Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You can follow him on Twitter @Adam Zagoria and check out his website at ZAGSBLOG.com.