Dad Carmelo once shared his son's desperate moment in life to make a comeback: "Kiyan Anthony is like a caged animal"

Long Island Lutheran prospect Kiyan Anthony, the son of Denver Nuggets legend Carmelo Anthony, was recently named the No. 1 prospect in New York in the class of 2025 by ESPN. Anthony gained the honor after a couple of scintillating displays during this year's Nike Peach Jam.

In a July 2023 video of the 6-foot-5 shooting guard training posted on Overtime's YouTube channel, his famous father is shown sharing his son's desperation to play after missing the second half of last year due to an injury.

"He (Kiyan Anthony) didn't really have the chance to play this year, you know, during the second half of the season, he's like a caged animal, and he's been waiting to get out of that cage, man," Carmelo said.

(Timestamp: 4:30)

Kiyan Anthony favored to follow Carmelo's footsteps

Carmelo Anthony is a certified Syracuse Orange legend. In 2003, he won the program its first national championship before he was selected No. 3 overall in the NBA draft.

Twenty-one years later, his son, Kiyan Anthony, is favored to join the program. The highly-regarded prospect cut down the number of schools that he was considering to six. They include the Ohio State Buckeyes, Florida State Seminoles, Auburn Tigers, Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Syracuse Orange.

During a 247Sports podcast, college basketball analyst Adam Finkelstein revealed that the prospect was trending towards joining the Orange.

"The favorite has to be Syracuse, right? We're talking about a dude whose dad is a legend, won the championship there, and his name is on the building that they practice in. ... I think him ending up anywhere other than Syracuse school will be one of the bigger surprises we've ever seen," Finkelstein said.

The only two programs Kiyan Anthony has visited so far are the Florida State Seminoles and the Syracuse Orange, and he hinted that he would visit his father's alma mater again before he made a final decision.

In an interview with ZagBlogs, Anthony said that he favored the program due to its recruitment style, indicating that he had connections there.

"The coaches, I feel like they’re recruiting me for myself, and not just because of my father," Anthony said. "That’s what I like. I just feel like they’re rebuilding, and they’re looking to get a winning team. I feel like I can help them do that if I was to go there.

"When I speak with the coaches, they let me know the vision. The type of players they’re recruiting and who all they think will be around. I liked all the stuff I heard from them."

Kiyan Anthony has already jumped from No. 60 to No. 40 on the ESPN 100 prospect list for the class of 2025, and his upward trajectory is showing no signs of slowing down.