Carmelo Anthony is undoubtedly one of the best basketball players to ever play for Syracuse after delivering one of the greatest freshman seasons in college basketball history, leading the program to its first and only national championship.
His impact on Syracuse has never faded, which is why his son, Kiyan Anthony, arrived on campus carrying the insane legacy he built, leading to far more expectations placed on a typical freshman.
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Those expectations have unfortunately put Kiyan’s freshman season under much more pressure than it should have, especially during his highly publicized benching. This has led Melo to juggle two hats: a father and the Syracuse great whose son is being unfairly compared in every game.
However, despite the criticism, Melo believes Kiyan’s freshman season, which many fans view as a disappointment, was a natural learning curve for any player out of high school, and one he is actively helping his son learn to deal with.
“To see him deal with his freshman year this way, I sat back, and I really wanted to see how he was going to handle it,” Melo said. “This is nothing what you’re dealing with.”
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“You’re 18 years old, you coming into one of the biggest colleges, and there’s a lot of history there. Your father did it. The name is on the building, like this is stamped in and etched in stone for life. So there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that. So, I want to see how he handled that,” he added.
A natural rocky start
Kiyan’s freshman year was marked by inconsistent playing time and questions about whether he truly deserved to be in the program, despite being a 4-star recruit in high school. He averaged 8.0 points while playing 18.7 minutes per game. Despite this, Melo really doesn’t believe the season was a failure.
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The elder Anthony rejected the idea that the season was automatically a disappointment simply because Kiyan did not become a star player. For him, it was a natural thing that freshman players go through, and he explained that the criticism around it was only a product of the emerging issue in modern college basketball, where players are expected to be good from the start rather than developed through years of struggle.
“To me, it wasn’t a failure year for him. It was something that any 18-year-old kid is going to go through in college. They’re not recruiting high school kids no more,” he said. “So unless you top two, three, four, five, you’re being overlooked anyway as a high school senior coming out into college.”
“They don’t think you’re ready, physically and mentally. They have the year that they want you. We got him for two years. You’re going to be here for two years, oh, we see him here for three years, and that’s how they develop you. And that, to me, that’s the wrong way of developing kids,” Melo continued.
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On paper, Kiyan’s freshman year was just a normal season for any other first-year player. It was the media that really heightened the pressure around him.
And for Melo, who has navigated that pressure from college all the way to the NBA, he is actively helping his son to try to block out the noise, highlighted when he remained positive in the media when his son was benched during the season, calling the situation simply “a part of the journey.”
Building a new Syracuse legacy
Now, after Kiyan announced last month that he is going to return to Syracuse next season, Melo will still be there to guide him along the way. The NBA legend is suiting up his two hats once again, but with an added personal aspect: he wants his son to enjoy it, rather than chase the legacy he built.
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“I want to see my son go and have a good time and smile, and play on the biggest stage. You in the ACC, Syracuse Orange. Your dad went there. You wear number seven. I got you playing in Madison Square Garden this year against St. John’s. Let’s get to work,” he shared.
Kiyan may never replicate what his father did in 2003, which is an almost impossible standard for any player, let alone a freshman. However, he can still carve out his own legacy as an Orange. In fact, it’s what Melo wants his son to do first and foremost, rather than be crushed under the massive expectations.
And with Syracuse having a new coach next season in Gerry McNamar, who was actually Melo’s teammate during their 2003 national championship, the sky is the limit for Kiyan. He may not have led the program to greater heights in his freshman year, but he still has a chance to help them snap their longest NCAA tournament drought since 1972.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the College section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
