A national writer thinks that Syracuse basketball legend Carmelo Anthony put forth the most impressive NCAA Tournament run ever by a freshman in the history of collegiate hoops.
Call me biased and a homer (because I am), but I agree with ESPN's Myron Medcalf, who recently ranked his 20 greatest Big Dance journeys from freshmen. Medcalf notes in his piece that freshmen weren't eligible to play until 1972, adding, "We limited consideration to players who helped their teams reach the national title game, giving more weight to those who actually won the crown and accounting for quality of performances through the full tournament (not just an exceptional game or two)."
There are a lot of fabulous names on Medcalf's list, and beyond Melo, the ESPN national writer includes several other former 'Cuse stars during March Madness. Fun.
Naturally, writing this piece as the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament is set to begin on Thursday night, it makes me delighted to reminisce about what Anthony and his Orange teammates achieved in the 2003 Big Dance.
Simultaneously, it does sadden me a tad that I'm writing this column amid the 'Cuse going 14-19 overall in the 2024-25 campaign and missing the annual March Madness for the fourth straight year.
Carmelo Anthony became an icon during his lone term at Syracuse basketball.
Before I get to Melo, let's look at two other former Orange standouts who are on Medcalf's list. Checking in at No. 20 is big man Derrick Coleman, who was part of the 'Cuse squad that reached the 1987 national championship game, losing to Indiana in a heart-breaking manner.
At No. 18 is guard Gerry McNamara, who is currently the head coach at Siena. McNamara, Medcalf wrote, "averaged 13.3 points and 2.5 steals in the tournament, connecting on 41% of his 3-point attempts, which helped him earn a spot on the all-tournament team next to Anthony."
And who will ever forget how GMac connected on a half-dozen shots from beyond the arc in the first half of the Orange's national title encounter against Kansas.
Medcalf has Anthony, a forward, at No. 1 overall, just ahead of Anthony Davis at No. 2. Davis was a key member of a vaunted Kentucky group that cut down the nets in 2012. If the ESPN writer had put Davis at No. 1, I would have been okay with that. More than okay, in fact.
However, Melo garnered the top spot, with Medcalf saying, "Anthony earned Most Outstanding Player honors after he led the Orange to their only national championship. He averaged 20.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG with 48% shooting from beyond the arc in the tournament, serving as the catalyst for wins over No. 1 seeds Oklahoma in the Elite Eight and Texas in the Final Four. He went on to score 20 points in his team's 81-78 victory over a veteran Kansas squad in the title game to complete the greatest run by a freshman in NCAA tournament history."
Melo's son, four-star shooting guard Kiyan Anthony, is part of the Syracuse basketball 2025 class. Kiyan has had a strong senior season at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., and hopefully, he can help lead the 'Cuse back to the Big Dance roughly a year from now.