Quietly, he emerged from a shower into his dressing corner. The rest of his Denver Nuggets teammates had dressing areas close together, only given a few measly feet of space. But not him, not the chosen one. He had a large corner all to himself, but following the Nuggets’ latest loss to the New Jersey Nets, 98-97, on March 10, he found himself far from alone in that corner. It was packed, even more than usual with reporters.

As those broad, tattooed shoulders – that only a year ago led the Syracuse Orangemen to their first-ever national title – emerged from a shower, camera lights and tape recorders flipped on. His trademark cornrows hung a little longer, now tied back in a ponytail. Almost no one acknowledged his 14 other teammates. They sat in silence, taking in the scene which surrounded the heralded NBA rookie.

One reporter asked him why he dressed separately from his teammates. ‘Because they knew all y’all would be here tonight. They predict how many of y’all are gonna be here for every game,’ he quipped with that boyish smile.

That’s the way it’s been this season for Carmelo Anthony. A year after taking Syracuse by storm, he’s done the same in the city of Denver. Just a year after his can’t-miss smile and thunderous dunks rocked the Carrier Dome, he’s become one of Denver’s most popular athletes. Just a year out of college, his Nike ads put him in the same category as Derek Jeter and Roy Jones Jr. It’s sometimes hard to remember that the kid is only 19.

‘He’s been terrific,’ Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. ‘He’s actually getting stronger everyday. If there is a so-called rookie wall, he’s jumped over it.’

Anthony has been so terrific that on March 9, with the Nuggets struggling, Bzdelik pulled Anthony aside. Despite Anthony’s great scoring numbers (20.5 ppg), Bzdelik wanted more. He believed it was time for Anthony to take on a greater leadership role, regardless of his age.

‘Coming from a coach to a player,’ Anthony said, ‘that means that he really wants you to take on that role, and I’ve got no problem doing it.

‘You don’t want to just come in right away telling everybody what to do when you haven’t played a whole lot of games. It was good that he came up to me, and I think my game speaks a lot. When my team sees me going out there hard, I’m going to pick them up and they’re going to pick me up.’

When Anthony fell from the second to third pick in last June’s NBA draft, the Nuggets certainly got the better end of the deal. Much like he took Syracuse from unranked to No. 1 last season, he has catapulted a lowly Nuggets squad into a playoff contender in the NBA’s highly competitive Western Conference.

Along the way, he’s brought reason to be excited to Denver, a city that hasn’t had anything to be excited about in basketball for years. The Nuggets haven’t made the playoffs since 1995 and last had a winning record in the 1993-94 season.

‘You can just see that the whole Denver community has really embraced him,’ Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins said, after taking in a Nuggets game in Denver on Monday night. ‘Just the way he smiles, the way he waves to the crowd.’

At first, as much as Denver may have loved Anthony, he didn’t love the city. He lives with Troy Frazier, a close friend and his adviser, but early on in the season, he kept a low profile. He said he and Frazier discuss almost daily how he can improve his game. His teammates say that he has now become more comfortable with the city and his surroundings.

His closest teammate is Rodney White. Like Anthony, White attended a prep school in Maryland. While Anthony attended Oak Hill Academy, White spent part of his high school career at Newport Prep.

When Anthony first joined the Nuggets, White helped Anthony grow accustomed to the change. Now with Anthony apparently comfortable and leading the Nuggets toward the playoffs, he’s come to White’s aid. The third-year forward has rarely played this season, averaging 13 minutes.

‘Me and him are in two different situations,’ Anthony said. ‘He’s not getting the minutes he’d like right now. But when I have a bad game he’s there for me and when he has a bad game I help him. We stick together.’

Amazingly, despite Anthony’s leadership role as just a 19-year-old, his teammates have not grown jealous. At least until last Friday night, when Anthony refused to play in the end of Denver’s 94-75 loss to Detroit after teammates told him he shot too much. Despite this, teammates and Bzdelik say he has been a great fit.

‘There’s no jealousy at all,’ forward Marcus Camby said. ‘We’re all in it as one. When we win it’s not his fault, and when we lose it’s not his fault. It’s not always him scoring all the points.’

Besides his success on the court, Anthony has teamed up with the Jordan Brand, a division of Nike. His first ad spot featured him saying, ‘I’m not Michael Jordan.’ He appeared in that commercial with Jeter and Warren Sapp. His latest Jordan Brand ad features him with Jason Kidd and Gary Payton and looks at the game through the eyes of the ball.

Teresa Tran, the Jordan Brand Director of Communications, said that Anthony is the perfect fit to carry on Jordan’s legacy while forming his own style. She added that while LeBron James has gotten much of the hype from Nike, the Jordan Brand plans on a major Anthony campaign for next year’s holidays. It should be launched sometime in the late fall. Anthony also collaborates on all the shoes that he endorses and has the final say before they reach the market.

Tran said that Anthony is the newest urban trend-setter.

‘It’s like when (Ken) Griffey (Jr.) came in wearing a backwards hat,’ Hopkins said. ‘It was almost like he was this little kid that everyone loved. It’s the same thing with Carmelo.’

As the crowd of reporters began to slim down, the young face that thousands of fans adore came into clearer view. Instead of a thousand-dollar suit, Anthony stood in his Nike jump suit. Most of the other Nuggets had begun to file out of the locker room while Anthony continued to answer questions. The one-point loss had been particularly tough on Anthony. While he managed 24 points, he also picked up a technical for an altercation with the Nets’ Richard Jefferson.

A representative from the NBA store stops and asks Anthony to film a quick commercial. He reads over the script a few times and agrees. He films the clip, wishing someone happy birthday, smiling the whole time.

‘He’s still so humble,’ Hopkins said. ‘People liked our team last year because we looked like we were having fun and played with heart and desire. That’s still how he is.’

Hopkins and fellow assistant coach Troy Weaver both said that while Anthony doesn’t regret his decision to leave early, he has mentioned to both of them how he misses the NCAA Tournament, especially with SU back in the Sweet 16. After Monday’s win over the Clippers, Anthony eagerly chatted with former teammates and coaches, reminiscing over last season.

One person who certainly does not regret Anthony’s decision to come out is Bzdelik. Without Anthony, Bzdelik won 17 games last season. This year, he has already won 37, and Denver currently sits tied with Utah for the West’s final playoff berth.

‘He’s made me a better coach,’ Bzdelik said.

Asked how Anthony had made him a better coach, Bzdelik paused and smiled.

‘He’s helping me win more games,’ he said. ‘Plain and simple.’

Looks like Anthony has everyone in Denver smiling these days.

Published on March 23, 2004 at 12:00 pm