And then they were three. Two months after he narrowed down his top 6 schools, Kiyan Anthony has shaved the list to half. Good news for Orange nation, Carmelo Anthony’s school is still in the running. Along with Syracuse, Charles Barkley’s alma mater, Auburn, and Bronny James’ school, USC could be potential homes for the five star recruit. This decision was seemingly cemented after Kiyan’s visit to USC. But the final decision is up in the air.

Kiyan has senior year of high school to get through while he dominates at the youth level under his dad’s Team Melo. So we have time to speculate which program has the higher odds of attracting Carmelo Anthony’s son.

A potential Orange legacy

Syracuse has been a favorite to land Kiyan Anthony for obvious reasons. It was the starting point for the NBA and Team USA’s scoring titan, Carmelo Anthony. He was his team’s leading scorer and rebounder. In only one season at Syracuse, Melo had led the team to its first NCAA Tournament title. Melo is also a big donor to the basketball program here, and the facility is named after him.

There’s a belief that Syracuse could relieve the 20-year-old glory under Melo’s son. The university had been courting Kiyan for at least two years. But Carmelo Anthony has been open about not interfering in Kiyan’s decisions.

Melo and his ex-wife, La La Anthony were a united front when they accompanied Kiyan to his first college visit to Syracuse. He tested out the Orange jersey on himself and posed with the 2003 trophy that Melo won.

Their early approach and a familiar face trump his dad’s connection. “The coaches were on me the earliest and they’ve been recruiting me since day one. They really believe in me. My guy Sadiq [White] is already going there and they’re trying to get a few more players for 2025. I feel like they’re really building something there and if I were to go there I could be a part of that,” he said months before narrowing down his top 3.

He feels like he needs to revisit the facility named after his dad again before his final decision. Which makes Orange a top contender.

A stepping stone to the NBA

Kiyan recently wrapped a cross-country visit to USC as well. New Lakers pro, Bronny James, is the Long Island Lutheran High School student’s connection to the Trojans. LeBron James’ younger son, Bryce, is also considering USC among his top choices. Both their dads always wanted to be teammates and this could be the next best thing. But playing alongside Bryce is not the only attraction the Trojans have.

Trojans HC, Eric Musselman is focused on developing top high school talent. Despite having zero commits in the 2025 recruiting class, their approach has been tailormade to younger prospects. Kiyan saw it firsthand at his visit that Musselman’s staff are well-prepared for him should he join.

“You can tell they really planned for me to come on the visit and it wasn’t something that was last minute. Coach [Eric] Musselman gets players drafted and in the lottery. They also produce players of my archetype and get them to the league,” Kiyan said after the visit.

While Syracuse has the additional emotional and legacy appeal, USC might be offering a foundation to his future career. Kiyan might be potentially factoring teaming up with Bryce now and Bronny in the pros when he narrowed down USC.

Where Kiyan Anthony is needed more

Rutgers and Florida State were out of the running when Kiyan rounded up his top 3 with the Auburn Tigers. Perhaps where Syracuse and USC complement his legacy, Auburn might be the place that truly needs the 6’4″ guard with insane offensive talent.

Tigers legend, Charles Barkley held his annual fundraiser for the Auburn basketball program this week. During the event he addressed how Bruce Pearl has developed the talents of the players and is consistently leading them to the NCAA tournament. Every year, Chuck feels his Tigers are getting closer to a title and, much like when he improved the Tigers in 1981, he hinges it on the new talent coming in.

Similar to Chuck commending Auburn’s growth on its HC, Kiyan said, “Bruce Pearl has gotten a bunch of players at my position to the league and has a track record of winning and making the NCAA tournament. A few of my guys go there like Jakai [Howard] and Tahaad [Pettiford] and they talk highly of the program. Auburn showed a lot of love since after Peach Jam and we’ve been in contact ever since.”

Kiyan could make a much bigger difference at Auburn in comparison to the Trojans. Then again, he could improve the Orange too, which has the Melo factor. He’s working out a schedule to visit Auburn this month which will help make his decision.

Come November, we’d know which school won the Kiyan lottery.