NEW ORLEANS - Sometimes he wears boots. With socks pulled up around his knees. And a pair of shorts tiny enough to be vaguely obscene. At breakfast.
This is what an 18-year-old does. He charms with innocence and sneaks by with naivete. He jumps in your bed to wake you up and he leaves messages on your answering machine pretending to be someone else.
And, if you're lucky, he takes over a basketball program. He energizes a university - an entire town - and infuriates opponents. Then - and this is the big one - he brings you to the brink of the national championship.
"You know what he is? He's a clown," Syracuse senior Kueth Duany said. "He's just a big kid."
Say hello to Carmelo Anthony. Chances are, he'll say it right back. Anthony has yet to meet the stranger he won't engage in conversation. He has not run across too many disappointments that could not be challenged with a smile.
That was him standing on Bourbon Street the other night. Hat sitting cockeyed on his head, jacket slung over his shoulders. Happily greeting fans and bending over to fit in the picture beside a youngster.
That was him racing down the court at the Superdome a couple of nights later. Syracuse's hopes resting on his shoulders, a grin spreading across his face. Gracefully cutting through a Texas defense, scoring 33 and pulling down 14 rebounds in a national semifinal victory.
Along the way, he managed to yuk it up with Texas coach Rick Barnes as he went up and down the court.
"Aw, they just got, like, six or seven calls in a row," Anthony said. "So I asked him if he had been paying the referees."
That's Carmelo. Or Melo, to his friends. Looking to turn everything into a joke. And making you shudder at the breadth of his talents.
The world sees LeBron James as some kind of basketball prodigy. Well, Anthony is the same age. Both 18. Both expected to be among the top three picks in the NBA draft in a couple of months.
Yes, college will be a brief interlude in Anthony's life. No one really expects that he will be back for a sophomore season.
And you know what? Not too many seem to mind.
No righteous indignation about the misuse of a scholarship. No blathering about the ruin of the college game.
People seem genuinely happy for Anthony. They are drawn to his child-like posture and approve of the way he followed his mother's wishes to Syracuse.
True, the popular T-shirt around campus reads: Real Men Stay for Two Years. And, after Saturday's victory against Texas, Syracuse fans chanted "One More Year" after Anthony finished his TV interview.
But few seem to begrudge his impending millions.
"He's a rare kid," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim explained. "He's well-liked by players, he's well-liked by the staff, the people that work in the building, the student body; everybody that comes in contact with him, really.
"We have a guy at Syracuse who hasn't liked one of our players since we've been there, and even he likes Carmelo."
Even so, he's a kid of contradictions.
He was not a great student in high school - he didn't get a qualifying score on his ACT until his final attempt - but was adamant about spending a year in college.
He's not a great player at practice, does not always work the hardest, but coaches and teammates all seem willing to give him slack.
Most confounding of all is Anthony's background. He had few advantages and little in the way of comfort, but is perpetually cheerful.
His father died when Anthony, born in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, was a toddler. His mother, Mary, later moved to Baltimore with him and his three older siblings. While she worked a custodial job at the University of Baltimore, Anthony honed his game.
He had few choices. The old neighborhood in West Baltimore can be a nest of despair. There is so much drug traffic, locals call it the Pharmacy. Anthony said when he was around 10 he watched a man die from a gunshot wound outside his front door.
Assistant coach Troy Weaver, who was responsible for recruiting Anthony at Syracuse, used to live and work in an area not far from Anthony's home.
"West Baltimore is tough. You watch the TV series The Wire on HBO? That's where he's from. It's a tough neighborhood," Weaver said. "For this kid to rise to where he is, to be as humble as he is, is a testament to his mother.
"It's very rare to see a success story like his."
As good as Anthony has been for Syracuse, and many believe he should have been the Big East player of the year, college has been just as good for him. Unlike a Kobe Bryant, he has not been prepped for the NBA his entire life. Anthony was really not even much of a prospect until he was 16.
The year at Syracuse has given him a chance to grow, to experience life and the pressure of big-time athletics.
And a chance to still be a teenager.
"If you didn't know who he was, you'd think he was a normal 18-year-old," said roommate Billy Edelin, a freshman guard. "He plays the music loud when you're trying to sleep, he likes to play-wrestle, he's just typical."
Pranks, goofy clothes, a national title game?
Typical.
[Last modified April 7, 2003, 02:17:44]
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