The City of New York has always shown respect to Carmelo Anthony, thanks to his exploits on the court, from winning the championship with his one-and-done college season with Syracuse to being an integral part of the Knicks. So, whenever he was in town, fans would go above and beyond to show love for Melo. Especially if he is visiting his old stomping ground, one of the current Orange’s stars did the same.

“I just saw him at an event and I asked him if I could make him some food,” Eddie Lampkin, the latest recruit of Syracuse spoke to Mike Waters. “We made it happen,” the 6 foot 11 center explained that he served food to Carmelo Anthony. Lampkin and his friend, Antoine Smith, have been serving up their signature Southern dishes and did the same for Melo.

He delivered a meal of lamb chops with Cajun pasta along with an order of chicken wings. Even uploaded a photo with the 10x All-Star with a caption, “Orange runs deep 🍊 #CuseFamily #BigFellas.” The 4-star recruit committed in February, after one season with Colorado Buffaloes. When speaking to Waters, Lampkin expressed Carmelo Anthony’s reaction, “He loved it.”

It was the first time that the Center was meeting the former NCAA champion. “It was cool. Definitely a good opportunity.” It’s not the first time Lampkin has cooked meals, earlier this month, he and his friend cooked at an event at the Limp Lizard with a dream of having a store-front restaurant in downtown Syracuse. Apart from the freshly cooked food, it was a warm welcome for Carmelo Anthony, unlike one time when the coach had no interest in Melo coming back.

Carmelo Anthony and his coach had different plans for the future

In his only season with the Orange, the 3x Olympics Gold winner averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds. He led Jim Boeheim’s team to the championship and was ready for his sophomore year. “I really wanted to come back though,” Melo said on his podcast. The discussion even led to some arguments, and despite Carmelo Anthony’s performance, the coach had already made a decision.

“I told [Jim] Boeheim I was coming back. It wasn’t one-and-done. One-and-done was unheard of at that point in time. … I’m going to college, I’m going to hoop, I’m going to enjoy college. I’m like, ‘Yo, Boeheim, I’m coming back.’ We had a real heated argument before that–I told him, ‘Yo, I’m thinking about coming back.‘”

“He told me, ‘Listen, they’ll leave your s**t, whatever you got in the apartment. Leave it. You don’t need that. Get the f**k out of here. I better not see you back on the campus.'”

Boeheim had no interest in stopping his prized pupil despite the performance since he saw the potential of Carmelo Anthony. And to continue his legacy, there is a possibility that his son, Kiyan Anthony, commits to Syracuse.