One of Syracuse‘s all-time greats is seemingly not happy with the current state of the program.
Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to its lone national title in 2003 and is the father of freshman guard Kiyan Anthony, appeared to have a strong message following the Orange’s 87-77 loss to North Carolina on Monday night — the team’s fifth in its last six games.
“SMFH,” Anthony wrote under an in-game highlight on the team’s official Instagram account during the loss to the Tar Heels.
Coach Adrian Autry’s squad dropped to 13-10 overall and 4-6 in the ACC. It hasn’t helped that the Orange are 363rd out of 365 Division I teams in free throw shooting. They are also at the bottom of the ACC in offensive rebounding rate and turnover percentage.
That one of the school’s greatest players and the parent of a top recruit is voicing his displeasure is not a positive sign for the program. Anthony spent millions to build the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center, the practice facility for the men’s and women’s teams, and regularly attends home games.
When his son committed to Syracuse in 2024, Anthony said he was confident that he would develop with the Orange. But Kiyan Anthony, who scored 10 points in 15 minutes against North Carolina on Monday night, has had an up-and-down freshman season, 23 years after his father led the team to the 2003 national title in his only year of college basketball.
After Monday’s game, Autry — who is in his third season with the program after a stint as former head coach Jim Boeheim’s longtime assistant — said Syracuse has to make improvements moving forward. The team still has matchups against Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, SMU and Louisville ahead on its schedule.
“On both sides, we have to get better and more consistent,” Autry said. “That’s what we have to do. For us to go where we want to go, this is part of the season, this is part of the journey. It’s more games to be played. I like this group. We just have to be more consistent in what we’re trying to do.”
