Seeing Kiyan Anthony, Carmelo in Syracuse basketball jerseys is glorious

Kiyan Anthony, the fast-rising prospect and son of Syracuse basketball legend Carmelo Anthony, took his official visit to the Hill in recent days, and social media erupted with simply beautiful, wonderful photos of those two and Kiyan’s mom, actress La La Anthony.

I have to say, seeing photos of Kiyan, Carmelo and La La wearing Syracuse basketball jerseys on Kiyan’s official visit brought me to tears a bit. I’m a huge Orange hoops fanatic, and when the ‘Cuse won the national championship in April of 2003, with Carmelo Anthony leading the SU charge, it was one of the best nights of my life.

I had graduated from Syracuse University three years earlier, in 2000, but still, I was screaming my head off when the Orange held off Kansas to cut down the nets.

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Fast-forward to the present, and I got some chills looking at photos of Melo and La La in Syracuse basketball jerseys with their son, Kiyan, who is a 2025 four-star shooting guard and a priority recruit for the ‘Cuse in the junior class.

Syracuse basketball hosted four-star Kiyan Anthony on an official visit.

Kiyan Anthony, a top-40 national prospect in the 2025 cycle, looked right at home in his Orange jersey on his official visit. Tons of Syracuse basketball fans were, like me, absolutely loving his official-visit photos with his parents. Kiyan’s photo holding the 2003 national-title trophy was dope, too.

Orange Nation, obviously, hopes that Kiyan Anthony picks Syracuse basketball when his recruiting process wraps up, but that’s by no means a guarantee, even if some ‘Cuse fans think it’s a lock that Anthony will ultimately head to Central New York for his collegiate hoops career.

That’s just not the case. Kiyan Anthony has made no secret that he has a high interest in the Orange, and the possibility of extending his dad’s legacy at the ‘Cuse is appealing to the four-star junior. Syracuse basketball coaches offered him a scholarship last November.

At the same time, Carmelo Anthony has said more than once that his son’s college decision is Kiyan’s decision to make, and he won’t push his son to go to Syracuse University, or any other school for that matter.

Kiyan Anthony has also noted in many interviews that while he’s interested in the Orange, he’s keeping his options open. To that end, he recently took an official visit to fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Florida State, and Anthony has said he also wants to officially visit Big Ten Conference members Indiana and Michigan.

As I noted in another recent piece, Syracuse basketball holds a slight lead for Kiyan Anthony, according to On3’s recruiting prediction machine, but that could change as his recruitment carries onward.

The ‘Cuse coaching staff is showing Anthony a lot of love, he has said. I’m confident that the Orange will remain a significant contender for him until the culmination of his recruiting process, and hopefully, he will don a Syracuse basketball uniform in an official capacity down the line.

Besides the ‘Cuse, his offer sheet includes teams such as West Virginia, UCF, Michigan, Maryland, Dayton, Florida State, Pittsburgh, Albany, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Seton Hall, UMass, Providence, Memphis, Bryant, George Mason and Manhattan.

Kiyan Anthony attends the powerhouse Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., and had a breakout AAU season with the Baltimore-based Team Melo in Nike’s EYBL league over the spring and summer months.