Picture this. April 5, 2003, the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament at the Louisiana Superdome. The Syracuse Orange met the Texas Longhorns on the court for the first time in both schools’ histories. #15 in Orange lit up his opponents and led the school to a 95-84 victory. Orange nation is expecting something of that scale when the Longhorns arrive in Barclays Center in the first round of the 2024 Legends Classic. So close to his turf, Carmelo Anthony was not going to miss the game on Thursday night. So the guy who terrorized some Longhorns two decades ago was in the house with the future Orange phenom that is Kiyan Anthony.

A week after Kiyan Anthony announced his commitment to Syracuse University, the father-son duo were back in the courtside circuit. It’s not uncommon for the Anthonies to attend Cuse games or any other game at Barclays. But this one is special for the New York Knicks legend because of the rivals.

The Orange and Longhorns are facing off for the first time since 2003, when both were contenders for the NCAA title in the Final Four. On the Syracuse squad was freshman Carmelo Anthony, a future NBA pro, all-time leading scorer, and Olympian. In his first and only year at Syracuse, Melo led the 3rd seeded Orangemen to March Madness.

The Longhorns were the no.1 seeded and favored to win in 2003. But Anthony came off 20 points in the Elite Eight and outdid himself in the Final Four. He made 33 points, 14 rebounds and 3 steals to lead Syracuse to the Finals.

His buddy, Dwyane Wade had also led Marquette to the Final Four that season but lost to Kansas. Orange and Jayhawks met in the Finals which Syracuse dominated with their shooting. As history went, Syracuse won the championship and Carmelo Anthony, with 20 points in the game, was voted Most Outstanding Player.

He’d go to the NBA draft right away and build a storied resume both in the league and on Team USA. He retired in 2023 but remains involved in the Syracuse community. But he’s gone from an Orange legend to now an Orange dad.

Kiyan Anthony is watching his future team

Carmelo Anthony’s son, Kiyan was a top college prospect before his famous dad called it an NBA career. Syracuse was the first to make the Lutheran guard an offer. And it was epic when Melo and Kiyan did a college tour of Syracuse and posed with Melo’s ’03 trophy.

Those who called it celebrated when Kiyan announced he’s going to keep up the Orange legacy next year on Melo’s 7pm in Brooklyn podcast. So them attending this game is a little extra special as Kiyan now went from potential recruit to a future Orangeman.

For Texas, it’s a grudge match for the 2003 defeat. For Syracuse it’s upholding Melo’s legacy while he watches. Syracuse had a slow start but it slowly closed the score gap. However, history didn’t repeat itself. Without an Anthony on the squad, Texas toppled Syracuse 66-70.