Carmelo Anthony’s son crushes first collegiate start at Syracuse

Like father, like son.

Over two decades after Carmelo Anthony led the Syracuse Orange to the only men’s college basketball national title in program history, his son, Kiyan Anthony, had a strong first start for Syracuse (2-0) in a 83-43 win over Delaware State (0-2).

Anthony scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, while adding four assists, three rebounds and a steal as the Orange improved to 2-0 on the young season. The 6-foot-5 freshman came off the bench in Monday’s season-opening win over Binghamton, scoring 15 points while playing a team-high 29 minutes.

Kiyan Anthony off to impressive start at Syracuse

The hot start is promising for a Syracuse team that has a daunting upcoming schedule after two more tune-ups against Drexel and Monmouth. On Nov. 24 and 25, the Orange play No. 2 Houston (2-0) and No. 19 Kansas (1-1) in the Players Era Festival, followed on Dec. 2 with an ACC/SEC Challenge game against No. 18 Tennessee (1-0).

Anthony, a four-star recruit out of high school, was part of the No. 17 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle, per 247Sports. He was the No. 7-ranked shooting guard and No. 32 overall player in his class. 

As promising of a start as he’s had, it doesn’t quite stack up to his father’s. Carmelo had back-to-back 20-point double-doubles in his first two collegiate games, averaging 27.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on 46.2 percent shooting.

Syracuse isn’t the power it was when Carmelo took the sport by storm as a freshman in 2002-03. Then, it was coached by four-time Big East Coach of the Year and 2005 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jim Boeheim, who retired in 2023 after 47 seasons as head coach. In its third season under Adrian Autry, Syracuse is coming off a 14-19 record, its worst (win percentage wise) since 1968-69.

The Orange have a tough road to reaching their first NCAA Tournament since 2021, but Kiyan’s impressive start is reason for hope. He’s a natural scorer, fluid but controlled in his movement, allowing him to get where he wants on the court.