Kennedy Meeks

[keysersosay#1]

I have to give a special salute to Kennedy.

He was 9/11 ... 18 points 10 rebounds 2 steals and 0 turnovers today
he is just a quiet, steady and BIG force inside who gets a lot of heat sometimes but deserves a TON of credit IMO.

He does a lot of little things like keeping balls alive and he just does his thing game in and out. I love what he brings to this team.

 

[heels05champs]

He's had a great senior season and shown improvement in several areas. He'll have an opportunity to play for pay next year, whether it is in this country or somewhere else is TBD but nice to see him having a great year.

 

[Archer2]

Of all our players, I've been most impressed with Kennedy and Luke this year. Kennedy, because he's been an enigma who faded during the latter part of the last two seasons. And Luke, because he wasn't expected to do much. I expected JJ, Joel, and Theo to play very well, and they have. I also expected Isaiah to play very well too, and he's been a bit of a disappointment, in all honesty.

Kennedy had one of his best games of the season. Soooooooo happy for him.

 

[BillyL]

The big fella has played so well this year.

 

[Spacegrass]

Meeks is perfectly suited to play a long time in one of the tier 1 euro leagues.

He's had a great senior season and shown improvement in several areas. He'll have an opportunity to play for pay next year, whether it is in this country or somewhere else is TBD but nice to see him having a great year.

 

[dgheel57]

Meek's is capable of having a Sean May NCAA tournament performance,the question remains...will he?

 

[gary-7]

Meek's is capable of having a Sean May NCAA tournament performance,the question remains...will he?

I'll tell ya dg, if we meet Gonzaga somewhere down the road it could an epic battle between Kennedy and that euro-behemoth of theirs.

 

[Heelicious]

Meek's is capable of having a Sean May NCAA tournament performance,the question remains...will he?

I love how much KM has improved this year. He is playong awesome. Most improved guy on the team which is saying a lot with JJs step up.

But tap the brakes on saying he could have a Sean May type tourney performance. Not sure it's possible. Remeber May won Final four MVP and was something like 10-11 or 12-13 fgs in the title game. I'm every tourney game that year he owned whoever he matched up against. KM is crafty at getting his shot off and getting points and rebounds but to compare him to Sean May is a disrespect to Sean.

 

[gary-7]

I love how much KM has improved this year. He is playong awesome. Most improved guy on the team which is saying a lot with JJs step up.

But tap the brakes on saying he could have a Sean May type tourney performance. Not sure it's possible. Remeber May won Final four MVP and was something like 10-11 or 12-13 fgs in the title game. I'm every tourney game that year he owned whoever he matched up against. KM is crafty at getting his shot off and getting points and rebounds but to compare him to Sean May is a disrespect to Sean.

Yeah, no doubt it would be unrealistic to expect that sort of legendary offensive performance --- plus that's not KM's game, BUT... he is already impacting that game on the defensive end more so than Sean did, so if he can give us the sort of hoss board work May did, well... I'll take it!

 

[2DDIMOND]

The big fella has played so well this year.

& he almost chose not to return for whatever reason. I have to say we would not be where we are if he had decided differently. We should be VERY thankful.

 

[Tigertown_a_Rick]

Happy to see Kennedy playing well and contributing the way he is right now....I feel good about the prospects of this team moving forward with He, Jackson and Berry making some big shots today....Not to mention, Pinson made several great passes, and seems to see the floor, and find his teammates better than I thought he would, so the Tar Heels seem to be peaking at just the right time....Now if we can just get Hicks to return to his early season form, the team might just make another magical run again this year in the tourney...Both the ACC and the Big Dance...

 

[FlaTarHeel]

& he almost chose not to return for whatever reason. I have to say we would not be where we are if he had decided differently. We should be VERY thankful.

 

[gary-7]

& he almost chose not to return for whatever reason. I have to say we would not be where we are if he had decided differently. We should be VERY thankful.

Well, that intent to leave was based on anticipating having the kind of season he's having this time. That plan got derailed by nagging injuries. The good news was last season's struggles strengthened his resolve (and his relationship with Roy), and he's back and having a terrific senior season.

I'll tell ya what, we tend to focus on JJ and JB, but I think KM is deserving of some All-ACC and AA mentions in his own right.

 

[superstar57]

Crazy to say, but this guy is actually just getting use to his new body there is more upside with his ability to hit that little jumper.

 

[Archer2]

Happy to see Kennedy playing well and contributing the way he is right now....I feel good about the prospects of this team moving forward with He, Jackson and Berry making some big shots today....Not to mention, Pinson made several great passes, and seems to see the floor, and find his teammates better than I thought he would, so the Tar Heels seem to be peaking at just the right time....Now if we can just get Hicks to return to his early season form, the team might just make another magical run again this year in the tourney...Both the ACC and the Big Dance...

If Isaiah can finish strong and we avoid injuries, we have a great shot at making the FF.

And Gary, I agree. Kennedy has been the rock in the middle for the team, all year long. I was worried about losing Marcus' poise and Brice's double double every night. Big Kennedy was something of an enigma, in that he'd played well at times, only to fade down the stretch. Yet it's Kennedy, not Isaiah, who has been the one to prove he can play 30+ minutes if it is necessary. He has been more than I thought he was capable of being. I really have to salute him for stepping up to the plate for the Heels. No one deserves it more, unless it's Stilman, or Nate, or Isaiah, or ...

 

[gary-7]

Crazy to say, but this guy is actually just getting use to his new body there is more upside with his ability to hit that little jumper.

...and I love seeing him literally bouncing into the paint for that turn-around. That is a move he physically couldn't execute last season.

 

[gobblercalls]

Meeks may not be the "best" player or have the most pro potential but if I had a vote for MVP, at this point, he'd get it.

 

[Archer2]

...and I love seeing him literally bouncing into the paint for that turn-around. That is a move he physically couldn't execute last season.

He's making plays I didn't think he could make. On one play today, he went put up a shot which didn't go, went right back up and caught the ball and banked it in while still in the air. I said WTF? The young man has finally learned how to play with his new body. It only took him 2 ½ years. That's perseverance. He's posting up stronger, receiving the ball stronger, and being more definitive with his moves. He's also avoiding getting too far under the hoop and has learned to use the rim and spin to the other side of the basket and avoid blocked shots. Now if he could just tighten up his FT shooting a tad...

 

[gary-7]

He's making plays I didn't think he could make. On one play today, he went put up a shot which didn't go, went right back up and caught the ball and banked it in while still in the air. I said WTF? The young man has finally learned how to play with his new body. It only took him 2 ½ years. That's perseverance. He's posting up stronger, receiving the ball stronger, and being more definitive with his moves. He's also avoiding getting too far under the hoop and has learned to use the rim and spin to the other side of the basket and avoid blocked shots. Now if he could just tighten up his FT shooting a tad...

...and again, it's not just his new body, it's finally being healthy enough to put it to good use.

(and Amen on the FT shooting... for EVERYONE!)

 

[FlaTarHeel]

...and again, it's not just his new body, it's finally being healthy enough to put it to good use.

(and Amen on te FT shooting... for EVERYONE!)

His stamina this late in the year is at it's best in 4 years.

 

[Archer2]

Oh, by far.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I'm not surprised by what a healthy Meeks can do; I am pleasantly surprised we still have a healthy Meeks this late in the season!

I fully expected TP to make a substantial impact on our season, but even I did not expect him to be this important! I think the level of his play on both ends has to be a surprise for most!

 

[Archer2]

Yep, Theo is our best passer. He is particularly adept at feeding the post via the lob. Mike kept saying how much our bigs missed Theo and his ability to get the ball to them where they like it. He was spot on.

What an efficient game for Kennedy. Just 25 minutes of high level basketball. The fake pass and the spin move for the little jump hook? Beautiful.

 

[DSouthr]

His stamina this late in the year is at it's best in 4 years.

Stamina, yeah maybe, not sure that is the best word, I would use energy. Your body is an amazing thing, when it senses that you are taking things to far it has this funny way of shutting your down. When you are sick, when you have the flu for example, your body needs you to rest and to achieve this it takes away your energy levels. IN a sense the changes Meeks made to his body convinced his body something was wrong, it shut him down by taking away his energy.

I watched the kid last couple seasons, I knew there was something I was missing, yeah injury could explain some of it but not really what I was watching. I saw a kid that looked like he had dead legs, he was trying but it just wasn't there. It clearly confused him, as you know from being sick in the past, when your energy is zapped your mental focus just is not there and it is hard to explain to folks just what is wrong. For the longest time I thought the school was not telling us the kid had mono because that is exactly what it looked like to me. IN a sense he did have the symptoms of mono, his body reacting to the radical changes he had made to it gave him the same symptoms but was harder to realize.

Folks tried to explain it as a injury and he did have some nicks but nicks that set you back that far will have you dressed in a suit for games, not a uniform. Yeah, the bone bruise to his knee effected him last season but I knew there was more, so did you.

What we see now from him is a kid's whose body has now accepted the changes he has made as its new normal and rather than taking away his energy it is feeding him even more and that is easy to see from his play, from how strong he now is late in games, how focused he is thru out the games.

I am happy for the kid and I hope he can be rewarded but more so I want our fans to finally realize how much this kid has had to go thru and how much he has over come. Every other kid on this roster has had good games and some less than great games, Kennedy Meeks is there every game working his butt off. No matter who else does what in any given game, Meeks is going to either give us a double double or come darn close. It terms of a car, UNC being a great race car, Joel, Justin, Theo may take turns being the engine but meeks, he is the transmission, without what he gives us we would not move very far, with him we may have the best car in the field!