Kiyan Anthony Shines In His Debut With the Syracuse Orange
Written by admin on November 5, 2025
The son of Camelo and La La Anthony electrified the crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome crowd in his first college game.
Kiyan Anthony made his highly anticipated collegiate debut for the Syracuse Orange, and he showed off all the potential that made him a four star recruit.
Coming off the bench, Anthony scored 15 points in the Orange’s dominant 85-47 victory over Binghamton in the season opener. The freshman guard, who is the son of Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony, was thrust into action earlier than expected after an injury to starting guard J.J. Starling. Anthony shined, going 6-for-10 from the field, including a three-pointer, and added three rebounds and three assists in his 28 minutes of play. His performance, which included displaying an ability to score at all three levels helped the Orange secure the comfortable win and signaled an exciting start to his college career. Donnie Freeman, a returning starter from last season, scored 20 points.
Before the game, Kiyan said his father became emotional over the phone when he spoke to him, The Daily Orange reported.
He also told Kiyan “that it felt like yesterday when he led the Orange to the 2003 National Championship. Kiyan also said that his father said that it will be a “blessing” for him to see his son wear the same jersey he did.
“I only can imagine how he felt watching his son put on the jersey,” Kiyan said postgame.Because of his work as an NBA analyst with NBC/Peacock, Carmelo was not in attendance at the JMA Wireless Dome. But La La, Kiyan’s mother, was in attendance, sitting courtside and donning a Syracuse jersey. Kiyan said that Carmelo will be in attendance when the Orange faces Delaware State on Saturday.
Kiyan’s performance was praised by his teammates.
“You guys see it, he’s ready,” SU guard Luke Fennell said of Kiyan. “He’s a bucket getter; he can do that, so it’s just beautiful to watch.”
“I was very pleased with the way he played on both sides of the ball,” Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry said.
