Carmelo Anthony on son Kiyan's freshman year at Syracuse: 'It wasn't a failure'

Carmelo Anthony would never quantify his son Kiyan Anthony’s freshman season at Syracuse a failure. It’s all about his development as a basketball player.

There were rumblings Kiyan Anthony could enter the transfer portal following the season, but he confirmed to On3’s Joe Tipton in April that he would return to the Orange for 2026-27. He’ll play under new head coach Gerry McNamara, who was Carmelo Anthony’s teammate on the 2003 NCAA championship team at Syracuse.

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Being the son of a legend isn’t easy for someone like Kiyan Anthony. Naturally, immense expectations come along with that last name.

“To me, it wasn’t a failure year for him,” Carmelo Anthony said on All The Smoke. “It was something that any 18 year old kid is going to go through in college. Also, they’re not recruiting high school kids no more. You get what I’m saying? So, you’re being overwhelmed unless you top 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, you’re being overlooked anyway as a high school senior coming out into college. They don’t think you’re ready, they don’t think you’re mentally ready, they don’t think you’re physically ready, they just don’t think you’re ready.” 

Carmelo Anthony referred to the transfer portal or NBA-ready prospects out of high school. Ironically, Kiyan Anthony could’ve pursued other opportunities via the transfer portal.

Kiyan Anthony averaged 8.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per game this past season. He shot nearly 40% from the field and 25.4% from three. He’s a former four-star recruit and was ranked No. 33 nationally in the 2024 class, per the Rivals Industry Ranking.

“You’re a father first, right,” Carmelo Anthony said. “So I gotta be there for my son as a father, whether you win, whether you lose, whether you got 20, whether you got two, whether you, you know what I mean? I still have to be there, and I still have to give you that message every single day, every single night as a father, but I still have to lead you … 

“Now the other hat I wear is somebody who actually did it at Syracuse, right? So I’m wearing these two hats, which a lot of times when I go back there for him, the player hat goes off. I’m in straight father mode, like I’m in straight father mode. So to see him go through or deal with his freshman year this way, I sat back and I really wanted to see how he was going to handle it … You’re 18 years old, you coming into one of the biggest universities in college, right? So, and there’s a lot of history here. Your father did it, we did it. There’s history here. The name is on the building.”

Syracuse concluded the season with a 15-17 overall record, with Kiyan Anthony and others, finishing 14th in the ACC. Following the year, the Orange parted ways with head coach Adrian Autry. ‘Cuse went 49-48 in three seasons under Autry and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament during his tenure. The program is now in the midst of a five-year NCAA Tournament drought, having not made the Big Dance since 2021.