Donte Greene first heard the comparisons the summer before his junior year of high school.

After earning a spot on the all-star team of a Nike basketball camp, the other players noticed some striking similarities between Greene and another Baltimore hoops legend.

Despite a dominating summer performance, Greene could not internalize the likeness. The 17-year-old was a developing prep star with only one solid year of varsity high-school basketball to his credit. Averaging 15.7 points his sophomore year was a start but nothing spectacular, yet. Still, the best high-school talents in the world could not help but make the connection.

Prognosticators and overzealous observers always try to compare young talents to established stars, so Greene knew the whispers were nothing unusual. But this wasn’t just any player. These were comparisons to his idol, to the player he modeled his game after, to the best player ever from his hometown of Baltimore.

For almost two years, Greene has been regarded as the next Carmelo Anthony – a Syracuse legend who captured the heart of the campus by leading the Orangemen to their only national championship in 2003. Next season, Greene will finally have the opportunity to live up to such lofty expectations.

Regardless of Greene’s eventual college legacy, though, he is another elite hoops prospect from the Baltimore area. Starting with Anthony four years ago, Baltimore has become a hotbed of basketball talent, and Syracuse is reaping the benefits.

But the newest Baltimorean to join the Orange, Greene, still brushes off the comparisons to his basketball role model.

‘It’s such a great thing, such a privilege,’ Greene said of his likeness to Anthony. ‘But our games are so different, man. All those fans up there (in Syracuse) have to understand: Carmelo and I are not the same player.’

Nevertheless, some of the similarities are evident. Both starred at Towson Catholic High School in Baltimore and for the Mt. Royal AAU team, now known affectionately as ‘Team ‘Melo.’ Greene looked up to Anthony during middle school and high school. Watching Anthony tear through the 2003 NCAA Tournament inspired Greene to follow suit at Syracuse.

Greene and Anthony met each other at Towson Catholic, but their relationship became close after Greene committed to Syracuse. Although Greene has spent the last few months touring the country playing in postseason showcases – like the McDonald’s All American game on March 23 – the two have managed to talk fairly often about the expectations, playing ball at Syracuse and dealing with SU head coach Jim Boeheim.

‘Carmelo told me that Boeheim is not gonna be the coach who kisses your butt and tells you what you want to hear,’ Greene said, laughing. ‘He’s gonna tell you the truth, what you need to hear. I like that, though. He’s going to make me better.’

Greene’s height is what makes him different than Anthony. Greene is projected to step in as an athletic power forward. His height makes him valuable on the defensive end both for rebounding and blocking shots. Conversely, the 6-foot-8 Anthony played like a big, physical guard.

The comparisons also falter on the offensive end, even though Greene does not play like a traditional big man. Unlike most power forwards, Greene is gifted with a deadly perimeter game that extends out beyond the 3-point arc. Anthony also played on the perimeter, but he was a slasher who used his quick first step to explode toward the basket.

Darrell Corbett, head coach of Team Melo, coached both Anthony and Greene. Although he understands Syracuse fans will try and compare the two, their biggest similarity is the high school they attended.

‘These guys have two separate games,’ Corbett said. ‘Carmelo liked to play inside, even though he was a guard. Donte became a perimeter player with incredible outside range. He likes playing out behind that arc.’

Even though Greene is known most for his outside shot, his high school coach, Josh Pratt, said there is more to Greene that does not appear on the stat sheet every night.

‘His biggest strength is his versatility,’ Pratt said. ‘He’s a great passer, he can rebound. He does so much to make everyone else better around him. Donte doesn’t have to put up 30 a night like Carmelo did to be valuable.’

Corbett told Greene, however, that Syracuse fans might not see it that way. He warned his prized recruits about the expectations that will undoubtedly come if he decided to attend Syracuse. By playing at the same high school as Anthony, the comparisons are inevitable.

‘I always tell him he has to go in there and not try to repeat what Carmelo did,’ Corbett said. ‘If he tries, he’ll just go crazy. Anyone would go crazy. He has to go in there and does what he does best.’

Greene is most proud of becoming part of the proliferation of basketball stars coming from Baltimore.

Anthony opened the door for dozens of Division I recruits, most notably Memphis Grizzlies rookie Rudy Gay, Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert and DaJuan Summers, and this season’s National Player of the Year, Kevin Durant.

As more young talent surfaces around the Chesapeake Bay, the city of Baltimore establishes itself on the national basketball map. It just took Anthony’s success to start the flow of players

‘There are a lot of great ballers in Baltimore, but they never got the respect they deserved,’ Greene said. ‘We’re mixing now with Philly and New York – all the big basketball hotbeds around the country. The rest of the country is finally starting to catch onto us, and Carmelo is the one all of us really looked up to’

With SU seniors Demetris Nichols, Terrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins graduating, Greene recognized the opportunity to immediately become a starter on a revamped frontcourt. The chance of instant playing time only solidified the marriage.

Because he is so tall, Greene will be expected to match up against the biggest and strongest players in the Big East. Pratt said the 217-pound Greene needs to bulk up if he is to succeed as a power forward in one of the country’s most physical conferences.

Greene hired a personal trainer for the summer and hopes to gain 10 pounds of muscle by next season.

Syracuse assistant coach Rob Murphy, who recruited Greene, said he only needs to add 5 to 7 pounds. Greene’s body type is naturally lanky, and he is not a traditional low-post player.

‘A lot of people expect him to play the 4 because of his size, but I don’t think he can get too much bigger,’ Murphy said. ‘His skill level is at such a high level already that he doesn’t have to get to put on more bulk, anyway. We do really want him to get stronger so he can become a better finisher instead of just putting on extra weight.’

Greene has embraced the expectations and welcomes the Carmelo comparisons. He even hopes to become the first Syracuse player to wear Anthony’s No. 15. But with the good comparisons come the bad.

Anthony played only one year at Syracuse before becoming the third overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets. Since Greene is arguably the most talented Syracuse recruit since Anthony, some presume he may also end up a ‘one-and-done’ player.

An NBA age limit forces high school recruits to be one year removed from high school before they can join the league. After that, it is up to the player. Greene said if the rule did not exist, he would not have hired an agent but would have put his name in the NBA Draft. He would have jumped straight to the NBA if he felt he was put high enough in draft predictions.

Greene’s family wants him to stay in college all four years, but Greene has not started thinking that far into the future.

‘You can’t go into college with the attitude, ‘I’m just gonna go in here for a year, do my thing, then leave,” Greene said. ‘College is supposed to be one of the best times of your life, and I want to have that experience.’

Published on April 10, 2007 at 12:00 pm