Technically, Carmelo Anthony stayed on Syracuse’s campus for a small fraction of his life. Yet, Anthony produced long-lasting memories that have impacted both the Syracuse men’s basketball team and himself forever.
Anthony played the main role in Syracuse’s lone national championship run (2003), proving that a program’s best freshman scorer could also lead a relatively inexperienced team to the Big Dance. Despite declaring for the NBA Draft shortly afterwards, Anthony remained connected to Syracuse throughout his 19-year NBA career.
In 2009, Anthony donated $3 million to initially fund the $19 million budget for the “Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.” In 2013, Syracuse retired Anthony’s No. 15 jersey at halftime against its key rival (Georgetown) at the former Carrier Dome. Anthony remained connected to former Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim both as a confidant and when they partnered again with USA Basketball en route to three gold medals together in Beijing (2008), London (2012) and Rio (2016). A little over 22 years following SU’s NCAA championship, Anthony’s son, Kiyan, will play for the Orange next season.
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