Kenny Minor usually gets the best of Carmelo Anthony.

Sure, the 5-foot-8 Manhattan guard gives up nearly a foot to the Syracuse star. And yes, Minor plays 21 minutes per game while Anthony is a probable lottery pick if he chooses to declare for next year’s NBA Draft. But if you ask those who’ve watched them play against each other, it doesn’t matter. Minor wins.

“Kenny always gets him,” says Eric Skeeters, who coached both players when they were growing up in Baltimore. “They’ll play one-on-one, and Carmelo will get so frustrated he’ll have to quit. Kenny’s the one person I know who can just talk Carmelo out of a game.”

The stakes will be a little higher when Minor and Anthony square off today at 12:20 in the NCAA Tournament’s first round. But no doubt Minor still thinks he can get the best of the battle. He knows Anthony’s game better than anyone. After all, they’ve been playing together since they were 10 years old.

“I’m sure Kenny’s given his whole team an amazing scouting report,” said Troy Frazier, a friend to both players. “Without a doubt, he knows Carmelo’s game inside and out. It will be a whole lot of fun to watch.”

As kids, Anthony and Minor lived less than a block from each other. They’d meet for backyard games of one-on-one. Minor, a year older, usually won. Backyard fun turned to big-stage confrontations when the two players entered high school. Minor went to Dunbar, a public school, while Anthony attended Towson Catholic. By Minor’s senior year, they were the two best players in the state.

Because of his size, Minor never enjoyed much recruitment during high school. He choose to play at prep school, and that’s when Manhattan came calling.

“Except for high school, they always played together,” Skeeters said. “All-star teams, pick-up games, you name it. And if they were playing together, you wanted to be on that team.”

Anthony never minded playing with Minor, because if the two split up, Minor would use a high-pitched voice to talk Anthony out of his game.

“Once, Carmelo even walked off the court he got so frustrated,” Skeeters said. “I’m telling you, this game is going to be fun to watch because of these two. The entire city of Baltimore is pumped.”

Published on March 20, 2003 at 12:00 pm