Kiyan Anthony Responds to Adversity with Poise and Production in Syracuse’s Win Over SMU
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - A week ago, Kiyan Anthony was the center of a college basketball firestorm. Not because of a highlight reel dunk or a buzzer-beater - but because he didn’t play.
Now, after a resilient performance in Syracuse’s thrilling 79-78 win over SMU on Valentine’s Day, the freshman guard is reminding everyone that he’s more than just a famous last name.
After being held out of the Orange’s game against Virginia - his first DNP of the season - Anthony found himself thrust into the national conversation for reasons that had little to do with basketball. The decision, labeled simply as a “coach’s decision” by head coach Adrian Autry, sparked widespread speculation and sent Anthony’s social media accounts into overdrive. The noise was loud, and it was everywhere.
So Anthony did something rare in today’s hyper-connected world: he logged off.
With 1.1 million Instagram followers and another 21,000 on Twitter, Anthony is used to the spotlight. But this time, he chose silence over scrolling. He deleted both apps, shut out the distractions, and went to work.
“The Virginia situation matured me up a lot,” Anthony said after the SMU game. “It came faster than I thought it would, but it made me stronger - level-headed and stronger-minded.”
He’s learning quickly that college basketball isn’t just a step up in competition - it’s a different world entirely. There’s more media, more narratives, more voices trying to tell your story for you. And as the son of Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony, the spotlight burns a little hotter.
“Everybody wants to put in their one or two cents,” he said. “But they don’t know what it’s like to walk in my shoes. So I just try not to feed into that and keep working.”
That work paid off in a big way on Wednesday night.
Coming off the bench, Anthony logged nearly 24 minutes and scored 13 points - all in the second half - in a game Syracuse had to grind out. He looked confident, composed, and ready.
He hit two of his four three-point attempts, including one deep bomb that brought the Dome to life. He attacked the rim.
He knocked down a smooth step-back jumper in the lane. And he battled on the boards, grabbing two rebounds, including one over 7-foot-2, 270-pound Samet Yigitoglu.
“That was a very tall big man they had,” Anthony said with a smile postgame, clearly enjoying the moment.
Head coach Adrian Autry liked what he saw, too.
“He made some big shots, some big drives, finished some plays,” Autry said. “And he played with the intensity that you need to play with. So, I was happy for him.”
It’s a notable turnaround from just a week ago, when Anthony sat the entire game in Charlottesville. That absence sparked questions - some fair, some far-fetched - but Anthony took it all in stride. He said he went straight to Autry’s office afterward to clear the air.
The message? He wasn’t concerned about the outside noise. He just wanted to play.
“I don’t care about any of that stuff,” Anthony told his coach. “I’ll be ready when my name is called.”
The conversation, according to Anthony, was honest and straightforward. No drama.
No tension. Just a young player trying to understand where he stood, and a coach reaffirming his belief in him.
“We see eye-to-eye now,” Anthony said. “The main thing I took away was that he didn’t lose faith in me. He believes I can contribute.”
Since then, Anthony has been living in the gym. Early mornings at the Melo Center to lift.
Team practices. Then back again at night to shoot.
It’s the kind of grind that doesn’t show up in stat sheets, but it shows up when the lights come on.
And on Wednesday, it showed.
“Everything is about opportunity,” Anthony said. “And when you get the opportunity, you’ve got to go out there and do whatever you can to stay out there.
I feel like I did a good job of that today. Hopefully we can take a step in the right direction and build off this.”
It’s easy to forget that Kiyan Anthony is just 18 years old. The spotlight, the expectations, the name - they all make him seem older. But nights like this are a reminder that he’s still growing, still learning, and still carving out his own path.
And if this performance is any indication, he’s well on his way.