Former Syracuse basketball star Carmelo Anthony announced Tuesday he will donate the lead gift for the construction of a new basketball-only practice facility.

Director of Athletics Daryl Gross, men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim and Anthony made the announcement in Denver, where Anthony plays for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.

Anthony, the star of the SU’s 2003 national championship team, will have his name on the facility. He committed $3 million to the project, according to Syracuse Athletics. His donation is only a part of the overall cost of facility, which Gross said could be between $10 million and $25 million.

The name of the facility hasn’t been determined, but Gross proposed ‘The ‘Melo Center.’

Gross did not specify on the exact location of the facility, only saying it will be in the Manley Field House area along with the other athletic facilities.

There is no definite timetable on the construction of the building.

‘I don’t really know what it means right now, but in due time it’ll start to make a little more sense,’ Anthony said. ‘It’s a legacy thing. It’s not just for this year or the year after. It’s for a lifetime.’

The facility will include two basketball practice courts, locker rooms and office facilities for men’s and women’s basketball. Gross said it could also include a basketball Hall of Fame.

Anthony remembered practicing at Manley Field House in his season at SU surrounded by other teams using the same facility. Because of the winter weather and how often the Carrier Dome is used, Manley Field House is often the epicenter of practices for most varsity teams.

The new facility will help aid the space issue.

‘You used to have everybody in there,’ Anthony said. ‘Now you can spread it out and people can feel more comfortable when they are working out.’

A committee that will include Anthony will handle the procedures and protocol.

‘We are still in the design phase, but I will tell you that his gift is obviously very significant and it’s very rare because you don’t see these things happen very much,’ Gross said. ‘It shows you why he’s so successful as a basketball player on and off the court.’

Anthony said he became involved when Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim and his wife, Juli Boeheim, mentioned the idea during the USA Basketball training camp in Las Vegas this summer. The former SU star checked with his ‘management team’ and figured out how he could help. Anthony is a co-captain for the national team; Boeheim is an assistant coach.

Though Anthony played for Syracuse for only one season, it was a storybook year. With Anthony as the centerpiece of the 2002-03 team, the Orangemen went 30-5 and captured the program’s lone national championship. He was a second-team All-American and consensus National Freshman of the Year.

‘Carmelo has already given Syracuse University more than anybody who has ever played there with what he did on the court and how he has helped us not only when he was there, but since then,’ Boeheim said. ‘The profile he has left us with has helped us tremendously in recruiting and will continue to help us because people admire and respect him, especially high school kids.’

One of Syracuse’s top recruits for the 2007-08 season is Baltimore-area standout Donte Green, who plays on an Amateur Athletic Union basketball team named ‘Team ‘Melo,’ funded by Anthony. Green might be able to play in the facility that bears Anthony’s name.

‘My legacy is going to be there forever,’ Anthony said. ‘When I got (to Syracuse) the way they took me in as a child was special. They treated me like I was native, like I was one of theirs and I appreciated that. I thought that winning the championship was enough, but it wasn’t, so I had to give back to let them know that I didn’t forget about them.’

Published on November 6, 2006 at 12:00 pm