Being a McDonald’s All-American would greatly increase a high school prospect’s profile, with some moving on to become NBA greats, but Kiyan Anthony was not selected as one. The four-star shooting guard from Long Island Lutheran suffered a horrific injury at the start of his senior season, and many saw him missing the first half of the season as one of the reasons for his McDonald’s All-American snub.
During his appearance on the June 26 episode of his dad, Carmelo Anthony’s “7 PM in Brooklyn” podcast, which also featured No. 2 pick Dylan Harper, Kiyan opened up about being snubbed for the McDonald’s All-American Game last April 1.
“I mean I got hurt in the beginning of my senior year, so I missed 14 games and we had a bad record,” Kiyan Anthony admitted. “We was like two and four and eight or something, like that so then when I came back, we went on a 17-game winning streak and then we ended up being top five.”
He continued by saying, “We ended up beating all of the top teams so I’m expecting, like, you know, I’mma get in the game,” said Kiyan about expecting the McDonald’s All-American invite. “The things people are telling me, what I’m hearing from the people that you know, choose the game, they sayin’ I’m good like nothing to worry about, so I’m like cool.”
“But then, they announce it and I’m not on there, so it kind of just threw me off a little bit, like y’all just told me,” he added.
He missed the entirety of November and December, but came back to play January and February. With Kiyan Anthony back, Long Island Lutheran went on an 18-game winning streak, beating some of the best high school teams in the country. They even made it to the finals of the Nike EYBL Scholastic Tournament but lost to Link Academy, snapping that 18-game winning streak. They also won the Throne Hoops National title.
Kiyan Anthony Will Wear Carmelo Anthony’s New York Knicks Jersey Number at Syracuse
Syracuse has already retired Carmelo Anthony’s No. 15 jersey at the school. The NBA legend led the Orange to its first and so far only NCAA national championship, and this led the school to honor him by retiring his jersey number. This also means that his son, Kiyan Anthony, cannot wear the No. 15 jersey either.
While Kiyan Anthony cannot wear No. 15, he can wear No. 7, which was his dad’s jersey number with the New York Knicks. This is fitting as Kiyan grew up in New York and is going to a school in New York, Syracuse.
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