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Thousands of text messages flooded Kiyan Anthony’s home screen. As did countless Instagram direct messages. And mentions on X. As the son of basketball legend Carmelo Anthony, Kiyan knows he’s going to receive attention. But this was different. This was everyone in the college hoops world forming opinions about Kiyan’s inexplicit benching in Syracuse’s loss to Virginia last week.

He saw a lot of hate. He saw narratives that aren’t the truth. So, he did what any 18-year-old would.

“I actually deleted Instagram and deleted Twitter for the past few days,” Kiyan revealed Saturday. “Everything like that, (I) was just trying to stay away from it, trying to stay level-headed and positive-thinking.”

Instead of basking in negativity, Kiyan worked tirelessly over the past week with Rob Harris, SU’s director of strength and conditioning, to bulk up in the weight room and work on his shot. He accepted head coach Adrian Autry’s decision to sit him for an entire game, yet he yearned for a big opportunity. Seven days later, he got one. And he seized it.

The freshman guard dropped 13 second-half points and drilled a pair of late 3-pointers to propel Syracuse’s (15-11, 6-7 Atlantic Coast) come-from-behind 79-78 win over SMU (17-8, 6-6 Atlantic Coast) Saturday in the JMA Wireless Dome.

Kiyan Anthony drives to the rim against SMU guard Jermaine O’Neal Jr. Anthony’s work with Rob Harris in the gym helped him feel more comfortable taking charge Saturday versus the Mustangs. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor

Kiyan might not be on social media right now, but he wants the world to know last weekend’s drama is in his rearview mirror.

In fact, the whole ordeal changed him for the better.

“I could have easily shut down, curled into a ball, but I was just ready,” Kiyan said of his mindset after not playing versus Virginia. “The gym was my safe and happy place for the last few days to a week. Nothing’s going to change. I’m going to stay there.”

“That’s really my best friend,” he added about the gym. “I just go to the gym whenever I can.”

Using what he had built with Harris all week in SU’s facility — a building named after Kiyan’s father — the highly-touted freshman performed as he was advertised out of high school. He displayed a deadly jump shot stroke and didn’t hesitate to ferociously drive to the rim.

After a slow first half, taking one shot in eight minutes, Kiyan nailed a corner 3-pointer with 14:21 left and Syracuse down by nine.

Once his first shot fell, Kiyan said he knew it’d be a good day.

He converted a fast break layup to put SU behind by just seven. He canned another jumper to pull within six. A 3-point make that injected dopamine into every fan in the Dome was originally his crowning moment. Then, with 5:40 to go, Kiyan completed a three-point play to give the Orange a one-point advantage — their first lead in 30 minutes of game time.

“In the second half, (the floor) kind of opened up for me early,” Kiyan said. “I just took it and ran with it.”

Kiyan performed at such a high level that he forced Autry to play him over J.J. Starling down the stretch.

Starling, Syracuse’s regular two-guard, finished with four points in 18 minutes against SMU despite being a starter. The senior didn’t see the floor throughout the game’s final 16 minutes and 46 seconds, a span in which SU completed a 12-point comeback.

Autry felt Kiyan was “engaged” and that his shotmaking energized the Orange, reasons why he played in favor of Starling. He also could hear Starling’s voice from the bench, loudly cheering on Kiyan while the freshman guard delivered the signature moments of his rookie campaign.

“(Starling’s) shown so much leadership and so much growth, and this is just another example of that,” Autry said of Starling encouraging Kiyan and others from the bench down the stretch. “Everyone wants to play. Overall, I think J.J. handled it really well.”

Sporting Syracuse’s warmup sweatshirt, J.J. Starling celebrates with his teammates following SU’s win. Starling was relegated to the bench often in the second half due to Kiyan Anthony’s late surge. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor

It’s hard to mope about being benched when your teammate is playing as well as Kiyan did. The highly-touted descendant of basketball royalty played just as advertised during the second half of Syracuse’s win over SMU — where Kiyan’s scoring and reliable defense steadied the Orange late before Nate Kingz hit a game-winning layup.

“Kiyan really gave us a huge boost,” Autry said postgame. “Offensively, he gave us a boost, but defensively, he did a good job (after) we went to (2-3) zone.”

“He played with the intensity that you need to play with,” Autry added. “I’m just happy for him.”

Following SU’s 72-59 loss to UVA last Saturday — when Kiyan didn’t play one game after Carmelo posted a comment on Instagram that called the team out — the freshman went to speak with Autry. Kiyan had already seen social media’s reaction to his benching. He wanted to make his stance clear to his head coach.

“I don’t really care about any of that stuff,” Kiyan told Autry. “I’mma always be ready for you whenever you want me to play, however many minutes you want me to play.”

The task ahead was clear: find a way back on the floor. Kiyan woke up early every day this week to get shots up with Harris hours before morning workouts. Then he’d go and lift weights with the trainer. Practice was next. Then it was back to the facility with Harris for another round in the evening.

Kiyan’s work with Harris refined his game. But his father flying into town for a few days is what brought his swagger back.

Carmelo flew to Syracuse so he could talk to Kiyan and shoot around with him in the aftermath of his benching. Kiyan said that Carmelo’s been in a similar spot before, when teams hesitated to give the former NBA great new contracts due to his declining performance. Kiyan felt the same way in that he needed to earn his way back onto the court. Carmelo showed him the path.

“He never lost confidence in me,” Kiyan said of his father. “He’s the main guy that helped me play the way I did today.”

The already-invigorated Dome crowd went ballistic at the sight of Kiyan’s final moment; he penetrated the lane and went body-to-body with 6-foot-10 SMU center Jaden Toombs, before performing a dribble-hesitation and nailing a layup through a foul. Kiyan sank the and-1 free throw to put the Orange ahead 72-71.

That play is where Harris’ training and Carmelo’s words came to fruition for Kiyan. He needed a reminder of the smash-mouth, Bronx-based hooper he’s always been.

“My frame might not represent a stronger strength, but I always play physical,” Kiyan said. “I was ready to take the bumps and get in there with those guys. Everything is about opportunity. And when you get the opportunity, you just got to do whatever you can do to stay out there.”

In the locker room after the game, Kiyan grabbed his phone. It buzzed. Not with an Instagram mention, but with an incoming phone call from Carmelo.

“Yeah, that’s what we talked about,” Carmelo told his son.

Published on February 14, 2026 at 8:26 pm
Contact Cooper: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews