Turning 19, Anthony already has a rich life

IF YOU RUN into Carmelo Anthony anywhere around Baltimore today, you know what to say.

Say "Happy Birthday," for that special day is today.

Say, "Hey, 19."

And say it quick, because not long after the Towson Catholic and Syracuse star blows out the candles on his cake, Melo's going to blow out of Baltimore, maybe forever.

Could be to Detroit, if Pistons general manager Joe Dumars decides he can't resist a player and person the caliber of Anthony - and who cares if the Pistons are already loaded at the small forward position?

"He's going to Detroit for a workout June 14. They'll run him through drills, make him take a psychological test - all the things teams do," sports agent Calvin Andrews of Bill Duffy Associates said about his new client.

"But what if [Carmelo] hits 'em with a smile and they see the kid is unbelievable, that he can help them win, will help in the locker room? You never know until they call your name."

Or it could be Denver, where Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik, by strange six-degrees-of-separation coincidence, is a former Baltimore coach (UMBC) who knows what Anthony could mean to the Mile High City.

"I would be ecstatic if Carmelo Anthony would be our draft pick. He's an outstanding basketball player, a great shooter, passer, can create for himself and his teammates and he's a proven winner," Bzdelik said yesterday during a family trip in Florida.

"The hype [that surrounds No. 1 pick LeBron James] means nothing insofar as how it relates to results. The bottom line is what happens on the court. I think Carmelo and everything he brings will speak for himself," Bzdelik said.

"Besides, I know [Anthony's former] coach Mike Daniel [from Towson Catholic] and I know the kind of kids that come out of West Baltimore. I think I can detect a hunger inside that drives Carmelo. With a kid like this, you know what you're getting, on and off the court."

Wherever Anthony lands, his mother will likely follow. Mary Anthony was the rock of Gibraltar parent who insisted her son go to college. What could she do now as all these awesome opportunities flooded him after that single, stellar season?

Now that he's declared himself for the NBA draft, Carmelo intends to buy his mother a new house in Denver or Detroit or possibly New York. Everything's up in the air, but then again, the price of waiting, wondering, is worth it.

"He's a little wide-eyed right now," Andrews said yesterday from his office in California.