This is business, he told himself as he nonchalantly glanced at his cell phone and swaggered into a room full of reporters.

He’d tell them he was going pro. Then he’d smile and laugh until he left the room glowing. This would be a press conference Carmelo Anthony style: fun and lighthearted.

Sporting his trademark orange headband, he sat down next to two of his coaches and looked at the 14 news cameras, some waiting to broadcast his decision live.

‘I won’t be coming back to Syracuse next year,’ Anthony said. Basketball would become business now, he explained.

Then he cried.

Carmelo Anthony — an 18-year-old freshman so audacious he guaranteed a Final Four berth and led his team to a national championship — finally folded emotionally yesterday as he announced he’d leave Syracuse for the NBA.

For at least a few moments, the Syracuse men’s basketball community seemed to fold with him. Head coach Jim Boeheim and assistant coach Troy Weaver both cried at Anthony’s side during his announcement. Anthony’s teammates — four of them attended — kept their eyes glued to the floor.

‘It felt kind of like a funeral,’ said Billy Edelin, Anthony’s teammate and roommate. ‘The whole atmosphere just seemed so sad. It was almost like depression just sort of spread through the room.’

Odd, considering the press conference started with Anthony’s smile and Boeheim claiming, ‘This is a very happy day for Syracuse basketball.’ Odder still since Anthony never showed anything but carefree joy during the season.

He averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds. He won National Freshman of the Year and Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. He helped Syracuse win 30 games and its first-ever national title, all while saying ‘the Big East isn’t really that hard for me’ or ‘sometimes college basketball seems easy.’

Cocky? You bet. When Syracuse advanced to the Final Four, Anthony cut down the net and wore it around his neck for the rest of the evening. He earned a reputation as one of the conference’s best trash talkers, prompting Boston College’s Troy Bell to gripe: ‘He sure doesn’t talk like a freshman.’

He walked with a swagger well-earned. He signed autographs on the Syracuse Quad and at fraternity parties. And he always smiled.

‘Nobody else I know is so comfortable in the spotlight,’ Steve Smith, Anthony’s high school coach at Oak Hill Academy, said earlier this year. ‘He’ll just soak everything in. He’ll take all the praise and prove he deserves it.’

But yesterday, Anthony stepped in the spotlight and finally looked, well, juvenile. His all-smiles start turned to tears. And, since Anthony has dictated tone since his arrival at Syracuse, what could have been a celebration turned to mourning.

‘First of all, I really don’t want to leave to be honest with you, but that’s another story right now,’ Anthony said, choking back tears. ‘It’s a tough decision for me to make.

‘My teammates brought me in for one year. We were really like a family out there. I’m going to miss them so much.’

Anthony moved his face away form the microphone to start crying. Boeheim took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. Weaver’s eyes, already red, started to wet.

‘When you see someone you love start to cry, you cry too,’ Weaver said. ‘It’s almost like he’s leaving home. It’s almost like my son is moving out of the house.’

‘It’s just really difficult,’ Edelin said, ‘because he loves it here. But at this point, he really had no choice but to go.’

Indeed, Anthony made his decision to leave school seem less like a choice than a resignation to reality. He had to leave, his teammates said. And, if he was looking for an excuse to stay, none could be found.

In terms of his draft status, Anthony could hardly be hotter. He likely will be the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft, held at Madison Square Garden on June 26. Last year’s third pick, Mike Dunleavy of Duke, signed a contract that paid him about $2.6 million in his rookie year.

In his one season at Syracuse, Anthony won a national championship, a Big East regular season championship and twice made the cover of Sports Illustrated.

‘I have to move on,’ Anthony said, ‘because there’s really nothing more I could get out of college.’

‘He’s done more for Syracuse basketball than any other guy we’ve had play here,’ Boeheim said. ‘There should not be one person that has any regret that he would leave us after one year. This is the right decision for Carmelo. He’s ready for the next level. I never for one moment tried to talk him out of it.’

Neither, apparently, did his mother, Mary, who has often said she hoped Anthony would stay in school to work toward his degree.

Anthony went home to Baltimore over Easter weekend and talked to his mother and mentor, Troy Frazier. He returned to Syracuse with a decision.

‘My mom was the most important thing,’ Anthony said, ‘and she supported me. Everybody really supported me.’

Said Jake Crouthamel, SU’s director of athletics: ‘The image Carmelo portrayed on behalf of the university could not have been better. He’s a unique person because of his people skills. He has a smile that shows you he’s having fun.’

And he has tears that show you he cares.

Published on April 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm