“Big shoes to fill,” Carmelo Anthony’s ex-wife said about her son’s college decision. After keeping fans on tenterhooks for months, Kiyan finally revealed that his father’s alma mater is going to be his college destination. As the 17-year-old looks forward to his college life, his father reminded him of new responsibilities and one habit that might become problematic.

While an overwhelmed Melo, on the Season 2 premiere of 7 PM in Brooklyn podcast, appeared proud to see his son following in his footsteps, he also advised him about the big changes college life brings. While discussing teamwork, sportsmanship, and decision-making skills, he reminded his son that he needs to learn life skills. He also pointed out that Kiyan lacks the basics of life skills, expressing concern as La La Anthony agreed with him.

“It’s an amazing thing but the fact that you are leaving home, you are going to be on your own. We spoke about this yesterday. You got to learn how to cook; you got to like, learn how to clean your s–t; your apartment like all type; driving,” Melo said.

That is when La La joined and said, “No, you need to clean. No, you’re messy.” That led to Melo calling him out, saying, “That n—a still leave gummy bear wrappers all over the trails, all over the house.” 

As Melo said, living an independent life away from parents can be thrilling at first, until the responsibility part kicks in. For Kiyan, apart from the basic skills, he will also have the weight of people’s expectations to surpass or match what his father built at Syracuse.

The 10x NBA All-Star led Syracuse to its first and only NCAA championship in 2003. Now, Kiyan, a consensus top-40 recruit nationally, could bring major attention to Syracuse University as well as some prime-time slots on television.

Kiyan Anthony makes a confession about his middle school run

He is the top recruit in New York State. Playing for Team Melo in the Nike EYBL circuit, he averaged 20 points per game, which is close to the New York Knicks legend’s 22.2-point average during his one year at Syracuse. While sitting next to his mother, La La, on the show, Kiyan confessed that he didn’t feel good about his skills, at first. 

When the host, Kid Mero, asked him about the early phase of his life, Kiyan shared, “I was trash, I’m not going to lie. And my middle school and my dad made a team Black Ops, started playing middle school with them.”

“And then I got to high school. My freshman year didn’t really play, and now play AAU I did okay. Then my sophomore year, didn’t really play. I transferred to Long Island, Luther, my new high school, and then started getting better,” Kiyan confessed.

The 17-year-old used to play baseball, and it wasn’t until later that he started playing basketball. With his growth spurt, Kiyan saw an improvement in his skills as well. While Carmelo Anthony’s name in the facility made Kiyan proud, his decision to attend Syracuse is about making a name for himself.