Kiyan Anthony looking to arrive on Syracuse’s campus ‘asap’
By SAM LANCE
FISHERS, IN — Kiyan Anthony isn’t just the son of Syracuse national champion, 10-time NBA All-Star and one of the most prolific scorers of all time. He’s now the son of a hall-of-famer. Shams Charania broke the news on Wednesday that Carmelo Anthony will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025, marking a special moment for the family.
“I’m going to have some time to celebrate with him now that the season’s over,” Kiyan told ZAGSBLOG after Long Island Lutheran’s 81-80 loss to Prolific Prep in the quarterfinals of Chipotle Nationals. “I’m just trying to get my family together and celebrate with him. It’s definitely great. It was expected though. He had a great career, and I’m looking forward to celebrating with him and seeing where life takes him next.”
For Kiyan, the next step in his career will be playing basketball at Syracuse, his father’s alma mater. The guard will be wasting no time arriving to campus.
“I’m looking forward to going up there asap,” Anthony said. “Like no waiting. I’m trying to go up there asap and put all the work in. I’m trying to go the first couple weeks of May. I have Jordan Brand Classic game and Iverson Classic, so just trying to go asap and just work on my body and lock in fully to basketball and put all distractions aside.”
Although Carmelo didn’t push his son to go to Syracuse, it means a lot to Kiyan to play for his father’s former school.
“I’m locked into that now,” Anthony said. “In the gym every day. Just really locked in on what I’m going to do when I get to Syracuse. I’m looking forward to it. [Carmelo’s] all in with me. He’s going to be at every game.”
Carmelo is the most decorated player in Syracuse basketball history. Having him around next season will be beneficial to the fanbase, per Anthony.
“I think it will bring it back alive,” Anthony said. “Syracuse hasn’t been too good these past few years. So just trying to go in there and do whatever I can do to help my team win. I feel like with my dad being there, it’s going to get the crowd back jumping. And we’re definitely going to win some games.”
Anthony will be joined by another highly-touted freshman next season: power forward Sadiq White Jr., whose IMG squad lost in the first round of Chipotle Nationals.
“Sadiq, he left yesterday,” Anthony said. “So I’m going to get on the phone with him today and just discuss — we are trying to go up to Syracuse at the same time. So we’re trying to get better and just going in there I’m looking forward to trying to win.”
Anthony continued:
“That’s my dog. That’s definitely my close friend. He brings a different type of athleticism, different type of energy. So looking forward to throwing him a lot of oops next year. He’s a winner too. So we going in together trying to turn Syracuse around.”
The past two seasons under head coach Adrian Autry, Syracuse has amassed a record of 34-31 and has failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Anthony plans to change that and said his relationship with Autry is “great.”
“He’s been coaching me throughout my high school season,” Anthony said. “He watches all my games. So he just tells me keep going. When he sees something that I need to do, he definitely tells me.”
While Syracuse is on Anthony’s mind, he’ll still forever remember his time at Long Island Lutheran. In his final game, the guard poured in 22 points in a loss to Prolific Prep.
@kiyananthony scored 22 points in the Chipotle Nationals quarterfinals pic.twitter.com/xujopPC9a1
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) April 4, 2025
“I’ll just remember coach [John] Buck pushing me everyday,” Anthony said of his time at LuHi. “He brought a different level of talent out of me, a different level of competitiveness out of me. And I just feel like without him I wouldn’t be where I’m at today. Obviously, we lost in the first game, but I feel like I performed really well and my teammates did too.”
For coach Buck, it’ll be a lot different coaching next season without Anthony. He raved about his energy and said he’ll miss Anthony because of his “great spirit.”
“He’s humble, he’s coachable,” Buck told ZAGSBLOG. “He’s incredibly talented. Not a lot of guys can just go out and score 20 points. It’s just not that easy, and he has the ability to do that. So as he continues to grow and get older and stronger, I think he can just add so much firepower to [Syracuse] and its program. Obviously, following in his dad’s footsteps and being a part of that legacy. It’s just a cool story. It’s amazing.”
As Coach Buck prepares for next season without Anthony, the guard is already envisioning his Syracuse debut.
“I know my dad is going to be there front row,” Anthony said. “So first time stepping on the court, it’s definitely going to be a legendary moment. I can’t wait for it.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
The post Kiyan Anthony looking to arrive on Syracuse’s campus ‘asap’ appeared first on Zagsblog.