Carmelo Anthony retired a year earlier than his timeline for his son, coached him throughout his teens, formed an AAU team that gave his son a platform to showcase his talent, called out the McDonald’s All-American for snubbing his kid, gave his Jordan Classic MVP jacket to him. Kiyan Anthony is even training in a facility that has his father’s name. But among the legends decorating the hallowed orange halls of Syracuse, it’s not his dad that stands out.

Kiyan and his teammate, JJ Starling gave a tour of the Syracuse training facility which has tributes to the greatest Orange athletes in history everywhere. This is the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center named after the legend himself who donated $3 million for its construction.

There’s one hallway that’s dedicated to the first round draft picks Syracuse has produced. Other than the recognizable third pick of the 2003 draft, the wall also had the 2012 fourth overall draft pick.

The host asked Kiyan, “Other than Melo, who is somebody y’all look up to on this wall?” Kiyan had the most unexpected answer. “For me, I would say Dion Waiters. That’s definitely my guy.”

Dion Waiters was a promising prospect who suited up for the Orange. The once top 5 draft pick had a very short NBA career, just eight seasons. He was last signed with the Lakers in 2020 and won the title with them. The 33-year-old took a break from playing for his mental health and unsuccessfully tried to stage a comeback in 2023.

His college career didn’t overlap with Melo nor were they ever teammates. Yet Waiters formed a connection with Melo’s son.

“You know, he always shows love to me through social media, and you know, I’ll hit him up, ask him some questions about Syracuse and just about ball in general. He—he’s a good basketball mind. So, that’s definitely one of my guys.”

Kiyan also gave a shoutout to Chris McCullough, the former Brooklyn Nets player currently playing in Taiwan. But perhaps his previously unspoken connection to an underrated Syracuse alum is more surprising.

Syracuse alums create the right atmosphere for Kiyan & Co.

For JJ Starling too, Dion Waiters was someone to look up to. But Wesley Johnson’s recent trip to the ‘Cuse was fresh on his mind for him to express admiration for him too. For these youngsters, including the NBA scion, the presence of these NBA stars like Carmelo Anthony is a major motivation.

In the offseason, Melo (and sometimes even La La) regularly showed up to Kiyan’s practices. Anthony said on 7PM in Brooklyn that he retired earlier so he was still in shape to scrimmage with Kiyan and give him one-on-one training. The results of that show.

Kiyan’s college debut has been nothing short of phenomenal. Wearing #7 like his Knicks legend dad, Kiyan looked like the second coming of Melo in Orange against the third seeded Houston Cougars at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this week. With Melo and La La seated courtside, Kiyan went for 10 points on a 3-for-8 shooting and tallied a rebound, assist and steal each. Starling had 11 points and Tyler Betsey had 16.

His aerial leaps were some of the best highlights of the game. Syracuse almost upset the Cougars in overtime. Though they lost 78-76, Kiyan emerged as the star who’s going to have his picture put up in the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.