Carmelo Anthony called Malachi Richardson after Syracuse win in Elite 8

There aren’t many people on planet Earth who can relate to Malachi Richardson, the freshman guard who led Syracuse to the Final Four with a brilliant performance against Virginia in the Elite Eight. Carmelo Anthony is one of those people, and he was one of the first to call and congratulate Richardson for his remarkable achievement on Sunday.

Anthony, who led Syracuse to a shocking win over Kansas to win the NCAA Tournament title in 2003 during his freshman campaign, was passed around the locker room as he congratulated the players from this year’s squad via his cell phone. Richardson related Anthony’s message to him, via Steve Serby of the New York Post:

“He just congratulated me, and said keep doing what I’m doing, and just to keep going,” Richardson told The Post.

Just keep going. That’s really all one can say after Syracuse’s improbable run to the Final Four.

The Orange became the first No. 10 seed to make it to the Final Four in tournament history over the weekend with their ridiculous comeback win over the Cavaliers.

As the game wound down to a close, Anthony, like all ‘Cuse fans, exploded with boisterous celebration.

Syracuse now has the tall task of trying to take down the only No. 1 seed left in the tournament in Roy Williams’ North Carolina Tar Heels. The Orange came close to beating this squad back in February but fell short, but Richardson isn’t phased at all by the team’s past failure to put the game away.

“Oh, very confident. We played North Carolina very closely [a 75-70 road loss last month] and I think we can get that win, and then when we get to the championship, anything can happen.”

Based on the way things have gone for Syracuse thus far, nobody should be shocked by another win on Saturday.

But it won’t be easy. North Carolina has only lost six games all season long, and the team is on a seven-game winning streak, which includes blowout wins in each of its first four games in the NCAA Tournament.

If the Orange do manage to pull off another miracle, you know Anthony will find a way to participate in the celebration once again.