Carmelo Anthony is pumped for Gerry McNamara to help son Kiyan crush it at Syracuse

New Syracuse basketball head coach Gerry McNamara is expected to hold meetings with Orange players from the team's 2025-26 roster on Thursday, according to a radio interview that GMac conducted the day prior.

Following those meetings, McNamara says he will have a better feel for roster retention as it pertains to the 2026-27 campaign. One thing seems fairly clear: Freshman shooting guard Kiyan Anthony will be returning to the Hill for his sophomore stanza.

Why do I say this? Because Anthony's dad spoke about Kiyan and GMac in a recent episode of his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, and the manner in which Carmelo Anthony discussed his son made it sound like Kiyan is coming back to SU in 2026-27.

On Wednesday, I opined that Kiyan Anthony and his good friend, freshman forward Sadiq White Jr., are the 2025-26 players who will most likely run it back with Syracuse basketball in GMac's first season at the helm.

This past term, as the Orange struggled through a 15-17 overall record, Anthony averaged 18.7 minutes, 8.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per contest while connecting on 39.9 percent from the field, 25.4 percent from beyond the arc and 62.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Undeniably, Anthony needs to get stronger and improve on defense. His free-throw and 3-point shooting also must get better. But even as a freshman, Anthony did show a knack for carving out space in the paint and scoring near the rim.

Melo dishes on GMac helping his son, Kiyan.

On his podcast, Carmelo Anthony said he trusts his former Orange teammate, McNamara, to further develop Kiyan's game. Melo noted that GMac "is one of the hardest-working guys I've ever seen." McNamara is someone you have to kick out of the gym, so to speak, Melo says.

Carmelo Anthony says that McNamara will bring the best out of Kiyan Anthony, give him further confidence and hold him accountable. Melo says that during summer workouts on the Hill, he guarantees that McNamara will be in the gym with Kiyan Anthony, training him. "This is what (GMac) brings and what he does. He wants to develop guys. This game is about development," Carmelo Anthony adds.

Of course, Melo and GMac go way back, as they won a national championship together at Syracuse in 2003. Carmelo Anthony believes that McNamara is a great hire to lead the Orange program back to prominence.

"This was the right decision," Melo says, and GMac "bleeds orange."