The only "one and done" selection in this list of the 40 greatest of the Big East, Carmelo Anthony brought to Syracuse what so many had sought: an NCAA championship.

Born in New York and raised in Maryland, Anthony was the Baltimore area Player of the Year as a junior at Towson Catholic HS, but opted for a year at Oak Hill Academy to improve his grades and his national recruiting. Seen by some as too slender for the forward position at 190 pounds, Anthony's weight training paid off--a 21.7 points and 7.4 rebounds a game average sent him to the top of the national Top 100 list and first team selections by Parade Magazine and the McDonald's All-Star Game quickly followed. Passing on opportunities to move straight to the NBA, Anthony honored his verbal commitment to Syracuse, and became the first McDonald's All-American to attend Syracuse since John Wallace a decade ago.

Carmelo Anthony arrived at Syracuse with high expectations and did not disappoint. He scored 27 points with 11 rebounds in 40 minutes in his debut versus Memphis, a 70-63 loss that was the first opening season loss in regulation for a team in the Jim Boeheim era. By season's end it would be the only out of conference loss the Orangemen would surrender all year. Anthony scored in double figures in every game that season, with 22 double doubles, including 29 and 12 versus West Virginia, 30 and 15 versus Georgetown and 30 and 14 versus Rutgers in the regular season finale, as the Orangemen became the first Syracuse team to go undefeated in the Carrier Dome since it opened in 1980. Anthiony finished the regular season ranked second nationally among freshmen in scoring and first in rebounding.

Over the course of the season, Anthony was named Big East Rookie of the Week a record ten times, breaking a mark set by Allen Iverson in 1994-95. To no surprise, he was named the Big East Rookie of the Year and was named to the all-Big East first team prior to the 2003 Big East tournament. What was surprising, however, was an early exit by the Orangemen despite the favorite in the tournament. Anthony shot just 2 for 13 from three point range as Syracuse was upended by Connecticut in the semifinals. It was a lesson learned as the Orangemen approached the NCAA tournament, where he averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds a game.

Syracuse stayed true to good defense and keeping Anthony inside two point range, averaging 47 percent from two point range and 47 percent from three and Syracuse advanced to the Final Four with wins over Manhattan, Oklahoma State, Auburn, and Oklahoma. Anthony enjoyed a career game in the semifinal versus Texas, with 33 points and 14 rebounds, and followed it up with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists as Syracuse held off Kansas, 81-78, helping Syracuse become the fourth different Big East school to win an NCAA title.

"This is the best feeling I've ever had in my life," said Anthony, who was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.

"[He is] the best player in college basketball. It wasn't even close," said his coach, Jim Boeheim.

Good feelings aside, Syracuse fans were resigned to the fact that Anthony's time in the orange and white jersey was fleeting. As early as September of 2002, Anthony told the Syracuse student newspaper that "I am planning on four years, but if anything happens, things happen. If I'm going to be a number one pick or a top five pick, I'm leaving."

While the Syracuse media notes held that Anthony "plans to major in selected studies in the College of Human Services and Health Professions," a degree was not forthcoming. Assured of a top five pick, Anthony left Syracuse after one season, where he was drafted third overall by the Denver Nuggets and became a 10 time NBA All-Star, played on four U.S. Olympic teams, and is an all but guaranteed Hall of Fame selection upon his retirement.

In 2006, Anthony made a $3.3 million gift to Syracuse for a new men's basketball practice facility, at the time the largest single gift by an NBA player to his former school. The Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center was named in his honor in 2009. His #15 was retired by the school in 2013.