22 years ago, Carmelo Anthony walked onto campus at Syracuse University as the No. 1 ranked freshman in the country. Only eight months later, the Orange were victorious in the National Championship Game, scoring an 81-78 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, and Anthony was able to depart a legend. Anthony was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, becoming just the third freshman in history to earn this honor. Soon, his son, Kiyan Anthony, could potentially be following in his footsteps.

Although Kiyan Anthony is not the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, name recognition alone will make him one of the most prized recruits that Syracuse has pursued since Jim Boeheim and the Orange landed his father over two decades ago. Anthony is the No. 34 overall prospect in the class of 2025 and has been pursued by a number of Division 1 powerhouses. Recently, Anthony narrowed his list down to six schools — Syracuse, USC, Rutgers, Ohio State, Auburn and Florida State.

Though there is not yet any indication as to which direction Kiyan Anthony is leaning, the first in-home visit the 4-star shooting guard will be taking will be with the Orange.

“So far, Anthony has scheduled a visit to USC for Sept. 14-16 and is in the process of rescheduling an official visit to Rutgers,” writes Dushawn London of 247 Sports. “However, this week, Anthony will have an in-home visit with Syracuse, the alma mater of his iconic father, Carmelo Anthony, on Sept. 4.”

Kiyan Anthony took a visit with Syracuse back in October 2023, meeting with new head coach/former Syracuse point guard Adrian Autry shortly after Autry took over for Jim Boeheim. Boeheim had run the program for the previous 47 years, and coached Carmelo Anthony during his one season at Syracuse. Autry went 20-12 in his first season as Syracuse's head coach last year, but it's been his work off the court that has been most impressive thus far.

Former NBA player Carmelo Anthony (r) sits with his son Kiyan Anthony (l) at the game between the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
© Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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Adrian Autry revitalizing Syracuse basketball program 

In the final seasons of Jim Boeheim's career, Syracuse has struggled to land the top high school prospects in the country. In fact, from 2015 to 2023, Syracuse didn't manage to sign a single top 40 prospect. It shouldn't come as a surprise that during that eight season span, the Orange missed the NCAA Tournament four times, the most in any eight season span during Boeheim's 47-year tenure.

Since Adrian Autry took over following a 12-year stint as an assistant on Jim Boeheim's bench, Syracuse already seems to be surging, at least on the recruiting front. Autry has received commitments from 15th-ranked 2024 prospect Donnie Freeman, and power forward Sadiq White Jr., the 20th-ranked prospect in the 2025 class.

Adding Kiyan Anthony would immediately give Syracuse one of the top recruiting classes for the 2025 season.