"They not better than us": Carmelo Anthony fuels passion in son Kiyan Anthony and teammates
Alongside showing Kiyan Anthony the ropes of becoming a lights-out shooter, Carmelo Anthony also teaches him the mental side of the game. A glimpse of that came during Team Melo's May 18, 2024, game against Team Final, as featured in an episode of Overtime. Anthony's squad trailed heavily at halftime (45-33) and had no significant advantage in the game.
So, when the roster huddled up around their coach, Carmelo joined the youngsters to give them advice.
"Y'all let the same guys shoot the same shots from the same spots," Melo said. "If I'm looking at one of y'all, your hand is down, that s**t is going up. They want to run and they want to burn. Space out, play together. They not better than us, man. They not better than us," he added. (13:49)
As a result, Kiyan Anthony and Team Melo bounced back. They began clicking from all areas of the court, sharing the rock and defending their post. Moreover, Anthony found his touch from beyond the arc and made 4/8 3-pointers in the game.
However, when the game came to a single-possession matchup, Francis Folefac traveled on the inbound action, disabling Team Melo to launch a game-tying/game-winning shot.
Nevertheless, Carmelo Anthony's words ignited Kiyan Anthony to post his best game of the EYBL circuit. While he launched multiple 20-point games, the matchup against Team Final was his best outing of the EYBL tourney. Anthony scored 29 points, six rebounds and four steals while shooting 45.8% from the floor (11-24).
Kiyan Anthony adds visits for his college pursuits
Kiyan Anthony is one of the best-known players in the high school circuit. Even before his senior year, he garnered more than 20 offers from Division I programs and narrowed it down to six schools.
- Auburn Tigers
- Syracuse Orange
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Rutgers Scarlet Knights
- Florida State Seminoles
- USC Trojans
With that, the 17-year-old is set to visit the Trojans on Sept. 26. It is the farthest institution from his home. Days later, he will travel to meet with the Rutgers staff in the first weekend of October.
So far, Anthony has visited only Florida State (once) and Syracuse (twice). Moreover, the Orange's coaching staff also mounted a home visit to Anthony last week.