Syracuse Basketball: Melo watches 4-star Kiyan Anthony’s strong game vs. No. 1 Montverde

With his dad, Orange legend Carmelo Anthony, in the house, Syracuse basketball 2025 priority recruit Kiyan Anthony was excellent against the country’s top-ranked team on a national broadcast.

The 6-foot-5 Anthony, a four-star shooting guard from New York City, is a junior at the powerhouse Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y.

On Saturday night, playing on ESPNU, Long Island Lutheran took on the juggernaut Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., in the championship game of the 2023 City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.

Montverde, whose loaded 2023-24 roster includes three former Orange recruiting targets, is ranked No. 1 nationwide, according to high school hoops analysts. Long Island Lutheran, in the latest top-10 national ratings from MaxPreps of teams that don’t compete for state-affiliated titles, was No. 2 overall.

Montverde defeated Long Island Lutheran in this enticing encounter, 73-59, handing the Crusaders their first setback of the 2023-24 season. However, Anthony played quite well in the loss.

Syracuse basketball continues to recruit Kiyan Anthony hard.

Per a box score provided by the X account of League Ready, versus Montverde, Anthony was second on his team in scoring, registering 14 points in 22 minutes of action.

He connected on 5-of-11 from the field, and Anthony made a pair of 3-pointers. He also collected three rebounds, one assist and two steals.

Nigel James, a 2025 four-star point guard who is also a priority target for the ‘Cuse coaching staff, is a backcourt teammate of Anthony’s for the Crusaders.

Against Montverde, James struggled with his shooting a bit. He finished with five points, one rebound, three assists and one steal in 26 minutes.

That being said, throughout the course of this season’s City of Palms Classic, which by the way is one of the most prestigious showcases annually on the high school basketball calendar, the 6-foot James put forth some strong performances for Long Island Lutheran, earning praise from national analysts and scouts alike.

In the loss to Montverde, the Crusaders shoot poorly from the field as a whole, the free-throw line and beyond the arc. Additionally, the Eagles dominated Long Island Lutheran on the glass, 45-29.

The trio of former Orange targets who play for Montverde are 2024 five-star big man Derik Queen (uncommitted), 2024 four-star point guard Robert Wright III (committed to Baylor), and 2024 four-star point guard Curtis Givens III (committed to LSU).

In the City of Palms Classic championship contest, Queen had 12 points and eight boards, Wright had 11 points, five rebounds and six assists, and Givens had seven points, one board and one dime.

Anthony, a top-40 national prospect and a top-10 shooting guard in the 2025 class, picked up a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball coaches in November of 2022, and he traveled to Central New York for an official visit at the end of October.

James is a top-100 overall player and a top-20 point guard in the junior cycle who was offered a scholarship by the Orange in late August and took an official visit to the Hill in mid-September.

Over the course of the City of Palms Classic event, besides Melo being in attendance, both ‘Cuse head coach Adrian Autry and associate head coach Gerry McNamara attended Long Island Lutheran games to see Anthony and James.