The first time I spoke to Kiyan Anthony was in mid-November after a win by the Syracuse Orange against visiting Delaware State.

The first thing that struck me in those talks was his maturity. The second thing that struck me was his team-first attitude. For a player with a lot of hype, with a Hall of Fame father and with an NBA dream, he seemed to generally like being a college basketball player - and playing with those around him.

This quote about the smoothness in his game stuck out above the rest:

I ​mean, ​I ​think ​it's ​just ​natural. ​I ​don't ​go ​out ​there ​saying, ​'you ​know, ​I'm ​trying ​to ​look ​cool, ​I'm ​trying ​to ​be ​smooth.' ​I ​just ​think ​that's ​my ​game, ​learning ​to ​play ​within ​the ​offense, ​not ​trying ​to ​stand ​out ​of ​the ​offense ​and ​go ​get ​the ​ball ​and ​shoot ​the ​ball ​every ​time. ​I'm ​in ​the nine to 11 ​field ​goal ​attempts ​per ​game, ​and ​I'm ​trying ​to ​just ​be ​efficient. ​You ​know, ​I ​shot ​8-for-11 ​today, ​6-​for-10 ​last ​game, ​and ​the ​efficiency, ​the ​shots, ​going ​game ​speed in ​workouts, ​it's ​all ​paying ​off. ​So ​I'm ​just ​looking ​forward ​to playing ​with ​these ​guys ​for ​the ​rest ​of ​the ​season. ​We've ​got ​a ​great ​bond. ​We ​hang ​out ​off ​the ​court, ​and ​those ​are ​my ​brothers.

I specifically asked him about the smoothness in his game, the way in which he moves. I didn't ask about his role in the offense, or about his teammates. He brought them up on his own. That resonated with me.

And his maturity is still standing out to me nearly three months later. I'm not speaking for Anthony, I'm speaking for me and how I would feel right now.

I'm sure things are frustrating. The Orange are just 3-3 inside ACC play and Anthony's minutes have fallen since the beginning of league play. He's played 18 minutes or less in each of the last seven games and his hit double-figures only once in that stretch. He's not being given much chance to find a rhythm and isn't on the floor at critical times. Yet, he's still supporting those around him and not giving into probable frustration.

"From my perspective, it's different because of the position I'm in, but obviously watching those guys finish the game every night, I'm cheering them on. I hope they can finish it. But we've dropped a couple but we've just got to do better as a team, as a coaching staff and as players, we've just got to come together better and do better overall."

Anthony and the Orange will be back on the floor on Saturday afternoon against Miami at the JMA Wireless Dome. Tip-off is 2 p.m. ET. They are coming off a difficult loss against Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

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