Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.
Stephen A. comments on four-star high school basketball recruit Kiyan Anthony, the son of the NBA’s Carmelo Anthony, committing to play college basketball at his father’s alma mater, Syracuse University
I didn't bring this up, but I felt compelled to bring this up.
Now.
I've been pretty busy lately, politics, news, all of this other stuff, but I wanted to get to this story in light of the things that I've discussed about Lebron and Brownie. A few days ago, a little more than a week ago, there was a small headline in the world of college basketball. Kayane Anthony, a top forty recruit in the class of twenty twenty five, the son of Carmelo Anthony. Ladies and gentlemen, he committed to Syracuse, where his daddy played. For those of y'all who don't remember Carmelo Anthony, remember Jim Baham all of those years forty years he coached at Syracuse. He had Sherman Douglas and Derek Coleman and Billy Owens and all of these cats.
Okay, and let's not forget the.
Greatest show in the history of college basketball, in my.
Opinion, Dwayne Pearl Washington.
Okay, anybody didn't know the basket well knows I'm right about that.
None of them led Syracuse to a national championship. Carmelo Anthony did as a freshman back in two thousand and three. He was average. He averaged twenty two and ten that year. She was thirty four percent for the field that year. Brother was all world.
Anyway. As for Kayan, he's six feet five.
He's a six y five shooting guard out of Long Island Lutheran who's considered one of the best pure scorers in the country. Here's a clip of Kanya making the announcement on his father's podcast, seven PM in Brooklyn, presented by Wave Sports and Entertainment.
Take a listen between USC and Syracuse.
Just wanted to think both of them for coming to all my practases, coming to all my games and yeah, but at the end of the day, you know only one can stay. And with divin say, I'll be coming in Syracuse University.
Yes, sir, first of all major major props. Rather the Kayenne the brother can play. I have not seen him, in full disclosure. I've heard scouts talking about him. I've had people talking to me about him, and obviously, considering that he's the son of Carmelo Anthony, you're gonna ask the obvious questions, how's his game and how does that game compare to the likes of Brownie James and other and you know stuff like that. Forget all of that for a second. Let me first say congratulations to this kid. The kid averaged nineteen point six points on a Nike eybl circuit in the spring, scoring twenty five or more points in four of the fifteen games he played. He was even more prolific at the Nike Beach Jam over the summer, average in twenty one point eight points and thirty seven point three percent shooting from three point range in eight games, including a forty pointer of forty point out in against the mac Irvin Fire when he shot fifteen of nineteen from the field and five to six from three point range.
Just to give him a.
Little bit more props, let me tell you what the scouting report is on him. Out of two forty seven sports, it says he's skilled, smooth scorer, high volume shot taker and maker, plays with an aggressive scorer mentality, and is constantly hunting buckets. He's had the ultimate green light, particularly in the eybl, so he has a tendency to set up for tough shots at times. But there are a few players in high school basketball bettery equipped to make shots with such high degrees of difficulties. He's got pull up, step backs, float as deep threes, all with with a natural soft touch and instinctive feel for putting the ball in the basket. His footwork and jab series are as advanced as you'd expect, and he's also become very adept at coming off of ball screens, ranking in the ninety percent tile in those situations. During the twenty twenty four eybl percentergy that sounds like Carmelo Anthony jab step pull up. Who this is?
Melow were talking about.
Scorer of twenty eight thousand career points, who was named to the NBA's seventy fifth Anniversary Team in twenty and twenty one. During his one season at Syracuse, he led them to the national Championship.
He was an All American, he was an.
NCAA final Foremost Outstanding Player honoree.
He's also a three time Olympic gold medalist. That's who we're talking about with Carmelo Anthony. Why do I bring that up? Why do I bring that up? Because it needs to be said.
Melo is Mello class personified, always a beautiful brother, always even killed. All of these months we've been hearing Bronnie James, Bronnie James Bronnie James. When have you heard about Kya particularly out of the mouth of Carmelo Anthony. A matter of fact, when you heard Carmelo Anthony, you know what you heard from Carmelo Anthony when people were asking him whether someone was going to go pro or not a few months ago, he said, I want to hear that shit. He said that brother got a get on this game, be on his grind and figure out what college he's going to go to. That's what he said.
And see, that's where the subject has to be broached.
Now, when we look at Carmelo Anthony, his career is not comparable to that of Lebron James. Because Lebron James is a four time champion and he's played ten times in the NBA finals. Carmelo Anthony never got there once. That is a huge blemish from the career of Carmelo Anthony. It is the only blemish on the career of Carmelo Anthony. Olympic gold medalist, all World scorer, perennial All Star, face of a franchise in Denver and then ultimately New York. When I think about Carmelo Anthony, I think about a dude. I believe that Joe Dumars would probably still be an executive in the NBA. I'm not talking about the NBA League office, but I'm talking about for the NBA team when he had Tayshawn Prince, and he had Ben Wallace, and he had Rashid Wallace, and he had Rip Hamilton. Then he had Chauncey Billips Off like that, Yeah, you're gonna draft Darko Milerchick. I understand that with the person that should have been drafted number two overall behind Lebron James in two thousand and three.
Should have been Carmelo Anthony.
Why because I think about what Bobby Knight once said about Michael Jordan. Draft Michael Jordan number one. They said, what if you need a center? He said, draft Michael Jordan and play them at center, because that's how great Michael Jordan was. And I think with Carmelo Anthony, considering the discrepancy that existed between a Darko and a Carmelo, you don't worry about the fact that you got tay Shawn Princes your three. You grab Carmelo Anthony and you think about the future.
Of the franchise. That's just me.
Joe Dumars guided them to like six conference consecutive conference finals in an NBA and back to back NBA Finals appearances, and won a championship with Larry Brown as his coach. I'm not here to impugn the greatness and the reputation of Joe Dumars. I'm just saying that's the one blemish because Carmelo Anthony was that special and even though he doesn't have a championship on his resume in the NBA, you would be hard pressed to find too many people that are more respected and loved as Carmelo Anthony, and you're looking at somebody that's got a whole lot of love for Carmelo Anthony. I bring that up because it's very, very important to understand and appreciate how he.
And Kayne's mother, La La, the wonderful.
La La Anthony have handled the son. I'm not talking about the son's doing anything wrong. I'm not talking about Brownie doing anything wrong. I'm not talking about Kayan doing anything wrong. I'm talking about how Carmelo Anthony handled it. So coming onto the college scene, they no questions about Kyne.
We want to see what he's gonna do and whether or not.
He's gonna emulate his daddy, who, by the way, has the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center, the arena named after him, named after him. He's going to the university. He's going to the university where.
His father has a basketball.
Center named after him, where his father is the only person in the history of the school to deliver a national championship. Do you have any idea how much pressure comes with that? Not only does he not care I'm talking about Kyenne. Not only does he not care, Not only is he not looking forward to the is he looking forward to the challenge. There's no one out there who expects him to fail because his gain is not a question mark. See the difference.
See where I'm going.
Bronnie James, I'm rooting for him. Wonderful family, great kid. He has done nothing wrong. Lebron James one of the top two players in the history of basketball. He's on the Mount Rushmore. He did nothing intentionally wrong, but he publicly stated he wanted to play with his son in the NBA and then publicly made it happen. And so as a result, the criticism that has come Bronnie's way has been excessive, and it has been unfair and it has been cruel. But who instigated it. It was Lebron. Lebron guess what, ladies and gentlemen absolutely pun intended. All he had to do was be Mello.
It's the one time.
In Lebron's basketball life he should have been Mellow.
Pun intended.
Don't say much, do all you can to help his game grow, and then step back and let his game speak for him.
So when he's elevated, no one has anything to say. But damn, that's his son.
This brother Kyenne hasn't played a college game yet. He's going to Syracuse and all of us are sitting there looking at him. With the value cuation process that has taken place, with what scouts have seen, with the way his game has been dissected, we're expecting him to be an extension of his daddy, a six ' five scoring machine with a jabs that would a pull up with a setup with a j with a three who smoothed.
Listen to the things that they say. It sounds just like Mellow.
And they're the one saying this, not Mello. They're the ones doing the talking, not Mellow. Mello went out of his way, didn't even want to be a part of the whole recruiting process, praying that he would go to Syracuse, but didn't want to play a role in influence in the sun, so he said, Yo, go ahead, you go to USC and talk to Auburn and whomever.
But I gotta stay out of it.
And his son ended up going.
To the school his father starred.
That determined to make his own name. And he's saying, Yo, look at all my father has done, but I'm coming. He has single handedly turned Syracuse basketball into a box office commodity and he hasn't even started there yet. Because I can't wait to see him now, because I want to see when.
He goes to practice at the carmelok Anthony Basketball Center and he's playing at the Dome in front of forty thousand people or something.
Is he gonna be that dude? They're saying, he got a chance.
They're saying, Na, Carmelo, he's just a proud papa. He didn't influence anything. He just got his son ready and made it happen. Why am I telling y'all this Because I'm in the media and I know what's coming, and eventually the opposite is going to be coming in Bronni's direction because of the process that unfolded, and it's all going to fall at the doorsteps of Lebron James because he dictated the process instead of letting.
The play itself out.
I'm telling y'all what I know, not trying to be negative, not trying to Lebron did nothing intentional to hurt his son, but it hurt nevertheless because of how he handled it. He should have been mellow. He should have been mellow.