NBA Draft Analyst Krysten Peek sits down with Kiyan Anthony at the USA Basketball junior minicamp to discuss his jam-packed summer, progression to his game, learning from his dad and his final 3 schools of Syracuse, USC and Auburn.
Video Transcript
I’m Kristen Peak here with Ken Anthony at the USA basketball training camp.
Uh Ken, you were coming off one of the best summers.
I don’t think anybody had a better summer than you on and off the court with all the traveling you did the games you saw.
But how does it feel being back here at USA?
It was great to uh get the invite back.
You know, I always come out here with the, with the best players in the country, try to separate myself from everybody else.
So I feel like I’m doing a good job of that and I’m gonna just keep trying to, you know, improve and keep being in the gym and try to outwork everybody my senior season.
So I feel like it’s going good.
I’m looking forward to my senior season.
I mean, you grew a little bit, your hand, you grew a little bit, your handle is getting better.
But what are you specifically working on your game?
I really just my body.
I feel like on the court, everything is coming into place, you know, like you said, my handle is my shot.
I feel like my body, I’m trying to get stronger with me also still getting taller.
So I feel like me being in the weight room is really just going to impact my game even more and then take me to the next level, going into college to be one step ahead of everybody.
So you were everywhere this summer.
I mean, I saw you at PGM and then you went to the Olympics, you were there for the gold medal game.
How crazy was that moment when Steph made those shots?
That moment was crazy.
I can’t, I can’t even explain it.
Like I took a video on my phone.
I had everybody text me like asking for rights to the video and stuff like that.
So it was just crazy to see like the greatest players in the world or greatest players ever to even touch a basketball all in one spot.
And um you know, step came out with a victory and if it wasn’t for him, I don’t think they would have won that game.
So I feel like watching that and recording that and having that memory is just so so I mean, you and your dad, you’re sitting courtside at a lot of games.
What are the conversations like?
Are you guys talking shop?
You’re looking at the game?
He’s breaking it down for you.
Yeah, definitely.
Like I would say more in the first half, he’ll really break down the game like, oh, you see what he did here?
You should be doing this and stuff like that in the second half.
We really try to, you know, break the game down or he’ll like me tell him what I’m seeing and stuff like that.
So I feel like he does a good job of talking to me about the game, but also letting me make my own decision and letting me, you see the game for myself.
So what’s it like having him as a mentor?
I mean, he is here all the time.
He’s at all your events.
But what’s it like having him and picking his brain?
Yeah, I feel like now that he retired, he really dedicated, you know, basically his life to, you know, just supporting me and coming to all of my trips, all of my bache stuff, even if it’s not bat, he’s still there.
So I’m forever grateful for that.
And then he just, he always keeps me in the gym.
He makes sure that my mind doesn’t go anywhere else.
So I feel like without him, I don’t know if I would be, you know, back invited in this camp or even as good as I am right now.
So you’re down to Syracuse, your dad’s Alma Mater, US C and Auburn, what’s going to go into this decision?
Um I’m actually getting real close to making a decision and the next I’m looking to come in the first two weeks in November.
So that’s right around the corner.
Um I feel like what separates us, like what coach has really been hitting me up, like, you know, the most and what place that could fit in and who’s there in my position and stuff like that and then what they’re telling me where they could see me fit in and I feel like that could really go into, you know, the fact that me really coming into the school and also, like the history they have, whether they’ve been good the past few years or something like that.
So, I feel like that’s what goes into it.
All right.
Well, Ken, good luck the senior season and for more information on Ken Anthony.
Keep it right here on Yahoo sports.
