Jim Boeheim opened yesterday’s press conference by calling it “a happy day for Syracuse basketball.” Ten minutes later, Carmelo Anthony was crying.

Anthony, while announcing his intentions to enter the NBA Draft, said he was upset to be leaving behind his teammates and coaches. Another thought, though, likely accentuated Anthony’s feelings of bittersweetness.

Odds are, Anthony’s charmed life is over. It happens that way for most players who declare early for the NBA, especially for those who remain in college for just one year or skip it altogether.

“Everybody struggles (at first),” Boeheim said. “Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant — they all struggled in their first few years. Carmelo is ready to go to that.”

Before blossoming into one of the league’s top players, Bryant, who departed for the NBA immediately after high school, managed just 7.6 points per game during his rookie season, 1996-97. Garnett averaged 10.4 as a straight-from-high-school rookie in 1995-96.

For players like Anthony who condensed their college careers into just one season, the beginning outlook is equally bleak. Tim Thomas fast-forwarded through a year at Villanova in 1996-97, and the New Jersey Nets scooped him up as the seventh pick. Yet after three seasons — while still averaging less than 10 points per game — Thomas got traded to his third team.

Most NBA Draft projection sources predict Anthony will be the third pick, behind high-schooler LeBron James and European player Darko Milicic. That means, if any of those players struggle, they’ll be doing so on a woebegone team that’s already accustomed to losing.

“LeBron called one time,” said fellow SU freshman Billy Edelin, Anthony’s roommate. “And he said (to Anthony), ‘You’re going to play for Denver.’ And Carmelo said, ‘Yeah, well you’re going to play for Cleveland.’ ”

Although it’s almost certain Anthony will be drafted by a team that struggled last season, there’s evidence to believe that he might not follow suit. After all, in just one season, he’s already bucked one well-established trend.

With yesterday’s decision, Anthony became the first SU player to ever depart after just one season. Two others — Billy Owens, the third pick in the 1991 draft, and Pearl Washington, the 13th pick in 1986 — left after their junior years.

Still, Boeheim hinted Anthony has the transcendent talent that might allow him to adjust quickly to the NBA.

“He has done more for Syracuse basketball than any player we’ve ever recruited or has ever played here,” Boeheim said. “In my mind, this is the right decision. As much as we would like to have him here, he is ready to play at the next level.”

Said Anthony: “If I had gone right from high school to the NBA, I probably wouldn’t be playing right now. I’d probably be struggling up there.”

Published on April 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm