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Syracuse Men's Basketball: What McNamara Had to Say About Kiyan Anthony's Offense
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- Syracuse Men's Basketball: What McNamara Had to Say About Kiyan Anthony's Offense
The Syracuse Orange men's basketball team defeated Niagara on Saturday afternoon to close out the exhibition schedule at 2-1.
While there were some very good things over the course of the preseason, including the development of Ryan Moesch at point guard, there are still some questions that Gerry McNamara needs to get answered.
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Speaking after Saturday's win , McNamara said that he needs to do a better job of developing some scoring chances for sophomore guard Kiyan Anthony. He said he needs to do a better job of getting him involved in some actions, clearly taking advantage of his ability to put the ball in the hoop.
It was a very up-and-down preseason for Anthony, the son of Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony. He scored just six points on 2-of-11 shooting in a loss against the UConn Huskies and then scored zero points in eight minutes against Siena. After that game, McNamara said that Anthony was dealing with some knee tendinitis, which was something they were managing. On Saturday, he had no points in 13 minutes. It was unclear if the lesser role was related to the knee and "load management," or indicative of his place on the roster.
However, the fact that McNamara was singling out Anthony is a good indicator that he believes in Anthony's talent.
The Kiyan Anthony file and assessment
Anthony appeared in 29 games for the Orange as a freshman in 2025-26, averaging 8.0 ppg and 1.4 rebounds. It was clear that he had physical ability, but was slight of frame. That frame made it a little bit harder for him to create offense on his own, and it was a little harder for him to hang defensively and on the glass.
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He bulked up this offseason and does certainly look different.
And Anthony is an interesting player, and I want it to be clear, the following is my own personal assessment based on seeing him in person multiple times, and covering the team for the entirety of his career.
1) I think Anthony is a really cerebral player. I think he has a really strong idea of where he needs to be on the court and how the ball moves, and how spacing works.
2) In addition to that, I think he's a smooth player. I don't think he's reliant on athleticism or power. I think, because he knows how the game operates, he has a smoothness to him. Nothing feels urgent, rushed or jagged about his game.
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3) But with that, there are a few other things:
A) I think Anthony is caught in-between right now. I don't believe he's truly athletic enough to just dominate athletically and create his own shot often enough. I don't think he can take defenders off the dribble consistently and get to the rim.
Syracuse Orange guard Kiyan Anthony (7) warms up prior to the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the JMA Wireless Dome. Rich Barnes-Imagn Images
That said, he's also not knock down enough of a shooter to play that way either. If you are not over the top athletic, you have to be able to hit from the outside. Carmelo Anthony was the total package, but he possessed an excellent jump shot too. Kiyan doesn't have that yet. He shot just 25.4 percent from 3-point range last season, and he didn't hit a 3-pointer in this exhibition season.
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As a result, something has to change. He either needs to get stronger and more athletic to create his own shot and get downhill and into the lane, or he needs to get a more consistent jumper. Or, as McNamara said, he needs to scheme up things to put him in good situations to score.
Because he's the son of Carmelo, there's been a lot of pressure and expectation on Kiyan. At the end of the day, he's just a sophomore, with tons of upside and room for improvement. I trust he'll get there.
