Syracuse Basketball

Kiyan Anthony, the son of 10-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony, announced he has received a scholarship offer from the Syracuse Orange.

His father spent one year at Syracuse and played a starring role as the Orange won their first national title during the 2002-03 season.

Anthony is the No. 62 overall player and No. 14 shooting guard in 247Sports' ranking of the 2025 recruiting class.

Per 247Sports, he has scholarship offers from Bryant, George Mason, Manhattan and Memphis as well.

The offer comes the same weekend the Anthony family visited the campus to watch the Syracuse football team's 38-3 loss to Florida State.

Anthony obviously has a lot of time before he needs to make a commitment, and more schools are bound to signal their interest in the months ahead. But Syracuse is the early favorite now and might be tough to beat.

"Syracuse is a big one for me because of my dad," Anthony said to 247Sports' Dushawn London. "He set the foundation over there so I won't go wrong if I went there. My options are really open, though, since I'm only a sophomore."

The future of legendary head coach Jim Boeheim could be a wild card, though. The 77-year-old hasn't set a date for his retirement but has worked with the school to lay out a succession plan.

If Boeheim steps down before 2025, it could impact Anthony's recruitment.

Syracuse star Buddy Boeheim was suspended one game by the ACC for hitting Florida State's Wyatt Wilkes during their ACC tournament matchup Wednesday. 

Later on Wednesday, Wilkes said in a video that he didn't believe Boeheim threw a punch and didn't think he should have been punished by the league. 

"I don't think he should be suspended, personally," Wilkes said. "That's just me. Obviously I'm not part of the [ACC] or anything like that, or doing a review. Everyone can have their own opinion. ... I've been hit with about 30 elbows in my career that were a whole lot worse than that one. From his perspective, I think that he felt like I cracked down on him a little hard on the box out. Obviously the play was clean, but just from the angle ... I did box out hard. I really didn't want him getting that rebound."

The punishment split opinion after the fact, with some arguing that the suspension was warranted and others finding it incredibly harsh:

Boeheim and Wilkes spoke on the court after Syracuse's 96-57 win. Boeheim also apologized in a statement. 

Both coaches from the game—Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, Buddy's father, and Florida State's Leonard Hamilton—downplayed the incident. 

"I saw the play, the kid pushed him twice," Jim Boeheim told reporters. "I think it was inadvertent. It wasn't much of a punch."

"I don't want anything to take away from how well they played and what type of fine young man he is," Hamilton added. "The game is physical. We expect guys to go out and bang and be aggressive. If something inadvertently happens sometimes we want to categorize it in one way or another. I've lost my composure sometimes. I've made some mistakes."

Unless Syracuse (16-16) beats Duke on Thursday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, Boeheim's college career may be over. While he technically has one year of eligibility remaining after the shortened 2019-20 COVID-19 season, both Buddy and Jim Boeheim have indicated in the past that the senior guard likely won't play next season. 

Boeheim leads Syracuse in scoring (19.3 PPG) this year, adding 3.1 assists per contest while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from three. Without Boeheim, the Orange are even bigger underdogs against No. 7 Duke (26-5) on Thursday. 

Syracuse guard Buddy Boeheim appeared to take a shot at Florida State's Wyatt Wilkes during Wednesday's ACC tournament game.

Midway through the first half, it looked as if Boeheim punched Wilkes in the stomach as the former turned to get back on defense after Joseph Girard III made a three-pointer for the Orange.

After Syracuse's 96-57 win over the Seminoles, Boeheim offered an apology for the incident. 

"I swung my arm while turning to go back up the court," he said, via TMZ Sports. "It was wrong to act out in frustration. I apologized to Wyatt Wilkes multiple times in the handshake line. I pride myself in respecting the game and our opponent. I will not react that way again."

Even though Wilkes doubled over for a few moments, there was no foul called and no review conducted by the officials.

Boeheim was ultimately suspended one game by the ACC.

Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton didn't call timeout as Wilkes recovered, and play continued.

"There's not a better kid in the ACC than Buddy Boeheim," Hamilton said after FSU's 96-57 loss. "... We are going to move on and let how well they played be what people talk about related to this game."

Boeheim is a son of Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. The senior led the team in scoring during the regular season (19.3 points per game). He has never been ejected from a game in his college career or assessed a flagrant or technical foul.

Syracuse is the No. 9 seed in the tournament after going 9-11 in conference play and 15-16 overall. It hasn't finished with a losing record since 1968-69 (9-16).

Wilkes is a senior guard for the Seminoles. He averaged 4.0 points per game during the regular season.

Florida State (17-13, 10-10 in the ACC) ended the regular season with eight losses in its final 12 games. The Seminoles entered the ACC tournament as the No. 8 seed and are trying to make their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament.

Longtime Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim said Wednesday the university has worked to formulate a succession plan.

Boeheim explained on ESPN Radio Syracuse he didn't want to provide many details because it could impact the Orange's recruiting, but he said the school will decide when to make the information public, and he expects to have a say in choosing his successor.

"There's a plan," Boeheim said. "I'm just telling you there's a plan."

The 77-year-old central New York native played college basketball at Syracuse from 1963 through 1966 and then joined the team's coaching staff as an assistant under Roy Danforth in 1969.

Boeheim was promoted to head coach in 1976 and held the role for the past 46 seasons. His career record stands at 1,098-424 (.721 winning percentage), but he vacated 101 victories as part of NCAA sanctions levied against the program in 2015.

His 997 official wins rank sixth in men's college basketball history and second among Division I coaches. One of the most amazing distinctions about is tenure is the Orange have never finished below .500.

That remarkable streak is under threat this season, however, as Cuse stands at 15-15 heading into the final game of the regular season against Miami on Saturday.

Boeheim, who previously confirmed he doesn't plan to retire after this season, said the succession plan is to ensure a smooth transition whenever he does step away.

"At the end of the day, I can promise you that I'm trying to leave this program in the best position that it can be in when I leave," Boeheim told ESPN Radio Syracuse. "I think we will be able to do that."

Mike Hopkins, who was named Boeheim's successor in 2015, left the program in 2017 after 23 years as an assistant to become the head coach at Washington.

Dan Raley of Sports Illustrated reported in February that Hopkins could still be considered as a potential successor by Syracuse.

Boeheim's current assistants are Adrian Autry, Gerry McNamara and Allen Griffin.

The recent slew of Syracuse women's basketball players who've decided to leave the program was reportedly due to inappropriate behavior from head coach Quentin Hillsman. 

Chantel Jennings and Dana O'Neil of The Athletic reported Tuesday that 28 different people connected to the program said Hillsman's behavior, including "unwanted physical contact, threats and bullying, and the program’s generally pernicious culture, pushed many players and staff members to leave."

In April, John Kekis of the Associated Press noted the Orange had 11 players enter the transfer portal following the 2020-21 season.

One former player described to Jennings and O'Neil the type of threatening language Hillsman allegedly used.

"The way he threatened us, like we all knew he would never physically harm us, but he’d always be talking about beating our asses. Like, 'I'll f--k you guys up. I'll f--k you up. It’s gonna be your ass if you f--k this up,'" the player said.

According to Jennings and O'Neil, another player said she "felt violated after Hillsman came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands near her pelvic region before brushing it off as a joke."

One team manager said Hillsman pushed a bottle of water away from a player who was "literally gasping" after going through a sprinting exercise known as Big Fives.

Jennings and O'Neil noted that among the nine former Orange players they spoke with, several of them experienced "suicidal thoughts" and "self-harm" as a result of their time with Hillsman.

"Five said they received therapy; two of those women were prescribed antidepressants," Jennings and O'Neil wrote.

The school issued a statement to The Athletic about the allegations against Hillsman:

“Syracuse athletics remains committed to providing a healthy, academically rigorous, competitive and rewarding environment to all our student-athletes. Any behavior – from our student-athletes, coaches and staff – that contradicts our commitment to these ideals is investigated thoroughly, and if necessary, appropriate action is taken.”

Former Syracuse guard Tiana Mangakahia discussed the matter, per Lindsay Kramer of Syracuse.com, saying she "never saw" any inappropriate behavior by the coach:

“I felt really sad for Coach Q and I feel like players who didn’t get what they want are now accusing him of things and making him look bad just because they didn’t get the minutes that they wanted while they were at Syracuse.

“I know that a lot of the players that spoke in that, because I could tell who it was, didn’t barely get any minutes of court time. I just feel like they did it in spite of not getting what they thought they were going to get out of attending Syracuse. I’m very surprised. The stuff they say in that article I never saw.”

Per Kekis, Syracuse is expected to return only four players from the 2020-21 squad. Kamilla Cardoso, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, and Kiara Lewis, who led the team in scoring (14.0 points per game) last season, are among the players who transferred.

Hillsman recently completed his 15th season as head coach of the Orange women's basketball program. He has led them to eight straight appearances in the NCAA tournament, including a trip to the national title game in 2016.

The 50-year-old's contract with Syracuse runs through the 2023-24 season.

The Syracuse Orange are gaining another Boeheim for next season. 

On Friday, head coach Jim Boeheim's oldest son, Jimmy Boeheim, announced he's transferring to Syracuse after playing for Cornell in the Ivy League. Another of the coach's sons, Buddy, is already a star guard for the Orange.

“I honestly think the possibility of playing with my brother and for my dad and for the program that made me fall in love with the game outweighs [anything else]," Jimmy told Syracuse.com's Donna Ditota. “I love Syracuse. I never stopped loving Syracuse. So it was pretty much a no-brainer.”

Jimmy Boeheim averaged 16.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists as a forward for Cornell in 2019-20. The Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 season due to the pandemic. 

This will mark the first time Jim has coached Jimmy, and the younger Boeheim feels more than ready for the challenge. 

“I’m excited for it,” Jimmy said. “I think I can handle coaching pretty well. So I’m sure he’s going to get on me, but I’m looking forward to having to separate on-the-court from real life and I think we’ll be able to do that. We’ll both know how to handle that.”

The Orange made a surprise run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed last March thanks largely to Buddy Boeheim's shooting. Now, he's getting some backup in the front court in the form of his older brother. 

It'll be the first time the two have played on the same team since they were at Jamesville-DeWitt High School in New York. Now, the two will try to win a national championship at the school they grew up rooting for and where their father established his Hall of Fame credentials. 

“I’m really just counting down the days when I can get into the Melo Center," Jimmy said. "Just picturing my name on a locker there. My name on the back of a jersey. It’s honestly surreal. I never expected this was going to happen. My plan was always to stay at Cornell, graduate and use my eligibility up there. But given the circumstances of the last year, here we are. I really can’t wait. I’m counting down the minutes.”

The Syracuse Orange men's basketball team will be able to take part in the NCAA tournament if it is included in the 68-team field. 

Syracuse announced Friday it has cleared COVID-19 protocols and will be eligible to travel to Indianapolis for the tournament:

There were concerns about a potential COVID-19 issue on the Orange stemming from their Thursday game against Virginia in the ACC tournament. 

The ACC announced Friday that Virginia withdrew from the tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program. 

The Cavaliers beat Syracuse 72-69 on Reece Beekman's three-pointer at the buzzer in an ACC tournament quarterfinal game.

Orange athletic director John Wildhack said in a statement Friday (via Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com) that all Tier 1 individuals within the program have tested negative for COVID-19 and "no member of the program will be required to enter quarantine.”

ESPN's Joe Lundari has Syracuse among his last four teams in the field as of Friday. The Orange finished the regular season with a 16-9 overall record (9-7 in the ACC). They have made the NCAA tournament in each of the past two years it has been played, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2018. 

Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim had some choice words for a reporter following Wednesday's 64-54 victory over Clemson.

Matthew Gutierrez of The Athletic explained the situation on Twitter: "Boeheim says via Zoom that I have never played basketball before and I am 5-foot-2, so I am not qualified to have an opinion on Syracuse."

The victory was Syracuse's second in a row as it looks to make a late push to reach the NCAA tournament.

The Orange are very much on the bubble and may need to make a quality impression at the ACC tournament to qualify for the field. 

Boeheim isn't the only marquee coach from the ACC who has expressed frustration with a reporter this season. North Carolina's Roy Williams did so following a blowout loss to Marquette, and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski apologized for angrily responding to a question from a student reporter following a loss to Louisville.

Syracuse men's basketball head coach Jim Boeheim announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19:

The 75-year-old Boeheim, who is asymptomatic and currently in isolation, is the second high-profile men's college hoops coach to test positive this month. Michigan State announced Monday that head coach Tom Izzo had a positive COVID-19 test.

Basketball activities are now paused for the Orange, per director of athletics John Wildhack.

Syracuse ran another round of tests after Boeheim's positive result, and another case emerged for one unnamed member of the program.

"We are following all CDC guidelines and ACC protocols, and working closely with the Onondaga County Department of Health, to mitigate further transmission of the virus," Wildhack said.

"All members of the basketball program will be tested again, multiple times, over the next week."

Should Boeheim be forced to miss any time, then Adrian Autry, the associate head coach, would lead the team.

College basketball teams have encountered numerous issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which is spiking across the United States.

Per the COVID Tracking Project, states reported over 163,000 new cases and nearly 70,000 total hospitalizations on Saturday alone.

Of note, Seton Hall announced a pause in team activities Wednesday because of COVID-19, and its Nov. 25 game against Rider has been canceled. COVID-19 hit the Minnesota men's hoops program, and its activities have been suspended indefinitely.

The Division I men's college hoops schedule is set to begin Nov. 25, with Syracuse slated to begin Nov. 27.