After a blowout loss earlier this week, the Syracuse Orange will be looking to grab this win against the North Carolina Tar Heels as they host this key Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Saturday. The Tar Heels are coming off an 82-58 loss against North Carolina State, while Syracuse faced an embarrassing 101-64 loss against Duke earlier this week.
Amidst all of this, reports are suggesting Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony will be present in the stands to cheer for his son, Kiyan Anthony.
Though Kiyan has been decent in his role as a freshman guard for the Orange, he still faces uncertainty within the roster. His playing time fluctuated and he was benched during Syracuse’s loss to Virginia earlier this month. Despite being healthy and ready to play, coach Adrian Autry kept him off the floor for the entire game. And besides this, Kiyan’s dad Carmelo Anthony had also recently expressed his disappointment with the state of affairs at Syracuse.
Carmelo Anthony had led Syracuse to it’s lone national title in 2003. However, following a previous 87-77 loss to North Carolina, it seemed like Melo’s patience was enough tested. This was the Orange’s fifth loss in six games played at the start of this month. Under an in-game highlight reel on the team’s official Instagram account, Melo wrote “SMFH” to express his dismay with the state of hoops at Syracuse.
However, with regards to Kiyan being benched, Melo still remained hopeful. While his son became the centre of media attention after being benched by coach Autry, Melo saw this as a sign of growth. In a comment about the news on ESPN’s social media page, he wrote,
“He’ll be Good! THEY SAY it’s part of the Journey. A little adversity don’t hurt.”
Seems like Melo is very much invested in the growth and journey of Kiyan navigating the treacherous waters of college basketball. Hence, him being at Syracuse to support his son for a high-stakes matchup is definitely a no-brainer. Kiyan looks up to his Hall-of-Famer dad with regards to everything hoops and tries to embody the same energy and dedication every time he steps onto the court.
Kiyan Anthony Had to Delete his Instagram and X to Focus Against Hate
After Kiyan Anthony was benched by coach Adrian Autry, there were countless narratives against him. Anthony was benched despite being healthy and perfectly fit to be fielded onto the court. However, the 18-year-old saw a lot of hate and vitriol coming his way that he had to take a pause from social media.
“I actually deleted Instagram and deleted Twitter for the past few days,” Kiyan revealed. “Everything like that, (I) was just trying to stay away from it, trying to stay level-headed and positive-thinking.”
But Anthony didn’t let all of these noises get to his head. He worked tirelessly to improve himself, bulk up in the weight room, and work on his shot. He had accepted his coach’s decision to bench him for an entire game and just seven days later, seized the big opportunity to prove himself.
In Syracuse’s 79-78 come-behind win over SMU, he dropped 13 second half points and drilled two late three-pointers to seal the deal. While fans and media still talked about the controversy and drama around his benching, Kiyan once again proved he was here to create an impact albeit all the noise around him.
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