Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony appeared to be on board with his son Kiyan Anthony being benched Saturday for the Orange’s 72-59 loss at No. 18 Virginia.
Under a post about his son playing zero minutes on ESPN’s Instagram page, Carmelo Anthony wrote that the benching will help his son down the road.
“He’ll be good!” Anthony wrote. “They say it’s part of the journey. A little adversity don’t hurt.”
Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said it was his call to bench Kiyan Anthony, who isn’t injured and was available to play. It was the first time the freshman didn’t play in a game this season.
“No injury concerns. It was just my decision,” Autry said after the game. “This is a physical team, experienced team. It was just my decision. Nothing else.”
The benching came days after Carmelo Anthony appeared to be critical of the program, posting “SMFH” on the team’s official Instagram page underneath highlights of its loss to North Carolina on Monday. Kiyan Anthony scored 10 points in that game.
Carmelo Anthony is one of the program’s greatest players and a booster who spent millions to help build the school’s men’s and women’s basketball practice facility, The Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center.
Kiyan Anthony, who is averaging 8.9 points per game, has had a turbulent season full of highs and lows. He committed to the Orange in 2024, more than two decades after his father led Syracuse to a win over a favored Kansas squad in the national title game during his freshman season.
The Orange have lost six of their past seven games as Autry, one of the greatest guards in Syracuse basketball history, has faced increased scrutiny amid the slide.
Autry said the benching wasn’t tied to anything beyond what he thought was best for the team against a Top 25 Virginia squad.
“It’s no narratives about any of this stuff,” Autry said. “I just made the decision. That was just my decision that I made today.”