"You could tell LeBron was key": Carmelo Anthony's son Kiyan Anthony "hurt" after losing against Bryce James in EYBL tournament
High school basketball prospect Kiyan Anthony said the loss to Bryce James' team in an EYBL game was painful because the matchup was tight. He felt his team could've won the game if Bryce's father, LA Lakers star LeBron James, wasn't coaching from the sidelines.
In the latest episode of The Evolu7ion: Kiyan Anthony released on Overtime's YouTube channel on Sunday, the 6-foot-4 guard shared his experience playing with Bryce James. In the AAU-sanctioned matchup, Bryce's Strive for Greatness defeated Team Melo 71-65.
"Throughout the game, you could tell Bron (LeBron James) was key. Like helping them with the scouting. Because he definitely knew where I was going, what hand I was going to (use)," he said [2:41-2:57].
Kiyan Anthony put up 18 points and four assists for Team Melo while Bryce James finished with eight markers, two rebounds and a block for Strive for Greatness. NBA 2003 draft class batchmates LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were watching from the sidelines.
Kiyan said his team zoomed to an early lead but SFG, led by five-star high school combo guard Brayden Burries, roared back into the game. They scored at will despite Team Melo employing various defensive schemes to stop the Eleanor Roosevelt-San Bernardino product.
On defense, SFG deployed four people to stop Anthony. The ploy worked until the late stages of the encounter when Team Melo rallied to trim a double-digit deficit to single digits.
The young combo guard noted the importance of the game and pointed out how he felt after the setback.
"This was definitely one of the games that we needed to win. Losing (the game) really hurt me because of the matchup like I lost to Bryce," Kiyan Anthony said [3:07-3:17].
Kiyan felt the need to ease himself after the loss and Team Melo coach John Zito asked his players to prepare for the next game.
Auburn plans to organize a workout for Kiyan Anthony
One of the finalists to potentially obtain Kiyan Anthony's commitment is reportedly planning to set up a workout session with the talented combo guard. Anthony, who is also being targeted by Syracuse, USC, Ohio State, Florida State and Rutgers, shared the latest on his recruitment process.
“They plan on coming to an open gym next week and they've also been trying to finalize a visit date for next month. I’m looking forward to speaking with them next week,” said Anthony, per 247 Sports.
The No. 34-ranked shooting guard in the 2025 class will visit USC on Tuesday and Rutgers on Oct. 4. He is expected to make second visits to Ohio State, Auburn and Syracuse before he announces his final decision sometime in the last week of October or the first week of November.