Kiyan Anthony made his own Syracuse choice: ‘I’m sure everyone assumes that Mel put the pressure on’

Syracuse, N.Y. – Kiyan Anthony came to his Syracuse decision after weighing the pros and cons of his two potential destinations, after “flip-flopping,” said his dad, after determining that the relationships he formed with the Orange basketball staff would best suit his college needs.
Anthony, the son of the man that helped deliver the Syracuse program its only national championship, committed to play for the Orange on Carmelo Anthony’s ‘7PM in Brooklyn’ podcast Friday night.
People on the studio set cheered when he announced his choice.
“Just looking at Syracuse and seeing, like, what could be done over there if I was to go over there,” Kiyan said by way of explanation. “They already have top people coming in, who I’m close with. Young coaching staff that I can connect to. Close to home, 45-minute flight. They would have me catching 6-hour flights to California. Just all of that, and then the ACC, they play Duke, Carolina. They play all the good schools. All of that plays a part as to why I chose Syracuse.”
Anthony, a 6-foot-5 guard rated right now as a 4-star prospect, joins Sadiq White, Luke Fennell and Aaron Womack as Syracuse’s newest batch of basketball recruits. Anthony’s commitment moved the Orange’s 2025 recruiting class to No. 6 nationally at 247sports.com.
Anthony was joined by his dad and his mom, La La Anthony, on the podcast. Both parents stressed that Kiyan’s decision was his alone to make.
“I think it’s important to say that Kiyan really made this decision. I’m sure that everyone just assumes that Mel put the pressure on him or Mel told him he had to do this,” La La said. “Mel just gave input on all the schools. And we stepped back and allowed him to make a decision and told him whatever he decided we would support. Contrary to what people probably think, there was zero pressure from his dad to go to Syracuse.”
“Me and Mom, we backed out of it,” Carmelo said. “We completely backed out of it in a sense of no pressure. It was no side conversations. It was listening to him, understanding what’s going on as we gave him all the information and the intel.”
Carmelo Anthony told viewers that his son was not swayed by NIL money or money of any sort in his Syracuse choice.
Kiyan Anthony is already a known social media commodity. He already has NIL deals as a high schooler at Long Island Lutheran. Both of his parents are celebrities.
“It wasn’t the bag,” Carmelo said. “I have to answer things that he’s not gonna answer. These are all the questions and things that people are gonna be saying. It wasn’t the bag, right? It could be a bag, because that’s just a game that we have to play. So those are different type of conversations. But this was a real, actual, genuine decision as far as understanding every aspect of what is there, what is happening, what could be.”
Kiyan Anthony said he flew to California for his USC visit last month and nearly committed to the Trojans on the spot. Carmelo Anthony acknowledged it’s “hard to say no” to a campus like USC, with a coach like Eric Musselman. LA, with its movie stars and nice weather, is difficult to turn down.
“USC,” Kiyan said, “felt like a movie.”
Syracuse is located about a 5-hour drive from Anthony’s home in Brooklyn. It’s on the East Coast. Nobody will mistake it for glitzy LA.
But, Carmelo Anthony told podcast viewers, “you gotta go off the people” in recruiting situations. Syracuse had recruited Kiyan for a long period, before he rose in the recruiting rankings. Adrian Autry and Brenden Straughn had made him a priority.
Kiyan’s consideration of Syracuse, of course, came with a big asterisk. His dad is a hero here. Carmelo Anthony’s name adorns the program’s practice facility.
“It’s Central New York and it’s something that your father has built and is still trying to build,” Carmelo said. “So, my message to him was don’t be afraid of it, embrace it. Because the guys that looked at me, watched me, is not your fans. You have the opportunity to carve out a whole new fan base. … What you can do with that community and that university, it’s some of the things that I couldn’t do because I had to figure it out as I went.
“He’s going into it with the (stuff) figured out. It’s a whole ‘nother fan base and community that he’s building. He’s gonna have to put his own pressure on himself. My pressure is not on him.”
La La Anthony said she and Carmelo purposefully decided not to name Kiyan after his dad. They chose Carmelo’s middle name for their only son. If he one day grew up to play basketball, they reasoned, he would not need the extra pressure of being named after a college, NBA and Team USA legend.
“We did that on purpose so he can form his own lane and be his own person and do things his way,” La La said. “It doesn’t take all the pressure off, but a little bit of pressure off. I just told him, ‘You gotta do your own thing. Even in this college decision, do what you feel is best. You don’t have to do everything that your dad did. You gotta do what makes sense for you.’”
That said, La La Anthony said she was happy that Kiyan chose Syracuse. Mostly because he was happy, she said. But also because she believed the SU staff worked hard to convince her son this was the best place for him.
Both of Kiyan’s parents talked fondly of him. La La described him as a genuine, loyal person, an “amazing” kid who has worked hard to develop his basketball game.
“He’s just a fun, lovable kid,” Carmelo said. “Now he’s in a situation where (stuff) is about to get real.”
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