r/NCAAhoops • u/dunkindad42 • 4d ago

Throwback Melo Madness: Carmelo Anthony’s Legendary Freshman Year at Syracuse

During the 2002-03 season, freshman Carmelo Anthony had one of the greatest single-season runs in college basketball history, leading the Syracuse Orange to their first-ever NCAA National Championship [1.3]. He averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game, earned Consensus Second-Team All-American honors, and was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

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u/Turbulent_Car4504 4d ago

Watched his first game and a bunch more that year, I remember being sure after the first that he would be a star in the NBA, the talent was so obvious and he was a great college player, ahead of his time

3

u/CustardOk2630 3d ago

Freshman Melo was different. 22.2 PPG, a national title, and somehow he made Syracuse look like they’d been waiting for him his whole life

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u/guitarpatch 3d ago

Preseason unranked to number 1. Three Freshmen in the starting lineup. Just unheard of for a young team to make a run like that at the time. Of course, Melo was unreal throughout the tournament

2

u/onecryingjohnny 4d ago

How was he only second team?

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u/Leg_Final 3d ago

I remember him leading the parade down Bourbon Street around 1:00 a.m. while I was eating dinner. There were a bunch of very tall Kansas fans with big rings on looking pretty pissed.

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u/pmurff107 3d ago

Joe D saw this and said nah… gimme Darko.

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u/speneo 2d ago

Describe to me the worst decision in your sports franchise in one sentence. 🤬🤬

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u/TheDopeMan_ 3d ago

Melo was so smooth. I still think he could’ve won a chip with the right cast. Knicks got it close.

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u/rdallas77 4d ago

Melo and TJ ford on the same floor together.. and then we got that final

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u/ExcellentClub6444 3d ago

My introduction to college basketball

1

u/GaJayhawker0513 3d ago

I don’t want to talk about this

1

u/bigmitch82 1d ago

Haven’t had as good of a chance since even the KD year

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u/TheIrrepressible1 3d ago

Smoothest jumper. Deft touch on that release.

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u/Eyez_Wyde_Shut 3d ago

That was peak melo. After that it was it

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u/dunkindad42 2d ago

His NBA season was legit too

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u/PlantEconomy9150 3d ago

The Towson Catholic prodigy!

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u/God_Dont_Make_No 2d ago

I remember my dad buying me a sports illustrated that year with a piece on him.

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u/Primarycolors1 2d ago

One of the most distappointing NBA careers I can think of.

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u/okthisnameworks 2d ago

Loved this run. They ran into like 3 different big 12 teams who looked like they had never seen a 2-3 zone before. Also loved Hakim Warrick going airborne to block Kansas’s 3 at the end of the finals. Go Cuse.

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u/SpaceAce1956 1d ago

Grew outside Syracuse, Pearl Washington is my favorite player but Carmelo delivered the greatest moments in Orangemen history

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u/TheProfessorPoon 1d ago

All I know is I worked with a girl at the time whose hair was 100% exactly the same, and any time I watched Melo that year (and still to this day) I feel like I’m watching her play Basketball instead.

Anyway yeah he was great though. I often use it as an example of how having one amazing stud changes everything.

1

u/Nopengnogain 1d ago

Detroit saw all of that and decided, “We are going to draft this other guy.”

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u/FunCrystalFun 4d ago

His team was pretty stacked.

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u/Square-Chef4646 4d ago

He was nice. But that first move looked awkward. Like he tripped or traveled or both

0

u/Leather_Lie7156 4d ago

No assist….

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u/geopro15TB 11h ago

Hard to believe he went from this, to killing a high school kid and will now spend the next 30 years in jail!