Towson Catholic and the Baltimore years

Anthony grew up in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn before his mother Mary moved the family to Baltimore when Carmelo was 8, after his father Carmelo Iriarte died of cancer. He played AAU ball with the Baltimore Stars and joined Towson Catholic as a freshman in 1998. By his junior year he was averaging 23 points and was the Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year.

Towson Catholic was a small private school with an inconsistent program. Anthony’s mother, his AAU coaches, and family friend Robert “Bay” Frazier — who later became his manager — decided that for his senior year he needed a national-stage prep environment. Oak Hill Academy was the choice.

The Oak Hill year

Oak Hill went 32-1 in Anthony’s senior season (2001-02) and was ranked #1 in the country in the final USA Today Super 25 poll. Anthony averaged 21.7 points and 8.1 rebounds, was named First Team Parade All-American and McDonald’s All-American, and won co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game alongside LeBron James — who’d go straight to the NBA the following spring.

Anthony committed to Syracuse over Duke, North Carolina, and several other Final Four programs. He explicitly wanted to play in a system where he’d be the focal point, and Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone offense was structured around a versatile wing scorer.

One season at Syracuse, then Denver #3

Anthony’s freshman year at Syracuse (2002-03) ended with a national championship — the only national title in Syracuse program history. He averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds and was named the 2003 NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as a freshman, leading the Orange past Texas in the Final Four and Kansas in the championship game.

He declared for the NBA Draft after that single college season. The Denver Nuggets selected him 3rd overall — behind only LeBron James (#1, Cleveland) and Darko Miličić (#2, Detroit) and ahead of Chris Bosh (#4) and Dwyane Wade (#5). The 2003 NBA Draft is one of the most-celebrated classes in league history; four of the top five picks went to the Hall of Fame.

Background facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on Carmelo Anthony and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records. Lead image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).