I like Meeks game and I'm hoping he has a big year in his last go around.He just needs that fire in him to be more consistent this season.
Whats really stopping Meeks from being a beast downlow for the Tar heels.
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The ncaa
Easy easy boys. J/K
I dont think he's mean enough myself. I'd like to see him push some people around and pound his chest.
Easy easy boys. J/K
I dont think he's mean enough myself. I'd like to see him push some people around and pound his chest.
Health - and I believe there's a chance the weight loss has caused some problems of its own.
Could Kennedy have been working too hard to drop the pounds each of the last two summers?
Excessive running or other high impact exercise could have contributed to his knee and other leg problems.
Also, restrictive diets can lower muscle bulk, especially when combined with rigorous exercise. KM may look leaner, but he may have weaknesses which become susceptible to injury when full strength game time begins.
I hope he continues the conditioning but with care and injury prevention in mind cause a healthy Kennedy is a pretty good player to have and I don't think the Heels really got that much last season.
Could Kennedy have been working too hard to drop the pounds each of the last two summers?
Excessive running or other high impact exercise could have contributed to his knee and other leg problems.
Also, restrictive diets can lower muscle bulk, especially when combined with rigorous exercise. KM may look leaner, but he may have weaknesses which become susceptible to injury when full strength game time begins.
I hope he continues the conditioning but with care and injury prevention in mind cause a healthy Kennedy is a pretty good player to have and I don't think the Heels really got that much last season.
With Big Sean May working with him,I think we will see a big improvement.
Vertical is the answer though I do not know why. There is tons of programs out there that can increase vertical.
The Mystery of the Meeks...
IDK, I just don't know, I want so badly to believe that what we have seen in the last 2 seasons past december from the kid was a product of sickness or injury that occurred during those seasons. I was easier for me to believe there was some undisclosed sickness that effected his second half of that soph season but to see a similar swoon and even earlier his Jr season, well twice in a row kind of becomes a pattern in my mind.
maybe it was something totally explainable both seasons, maybe he did get some kind of bug in that soph season and never recovered his legs, maybe that bone bruise did extend thru the entire season last time out, that is what I want to believe. But I need some official acknowledgement that is what happened, more so than speculation that it may have but no official statement to ease my mind.
What I see is a 6'9" 265lbs guy that has very little lift off the floor, who needs a step or 2 to dunk the ball and for some un-explainable reason camps out deep in the paint, the very worst place you could find a kid that can not explode up and thru contact to finish strong? I mean the replays roll thru my head still, Meeks down deep in the paint gets a great pass, he pump fakes his defender once, twice, thrice, and he goes up and his shot is blocked by the defender that never had to have his feet leave the court? Or it finishes differently, he throws up some twisting turning wild deal, rebounds his own miss, puts it back up, rebounds his own miss, and then finally it goes in or the other team rebounds. His stat line at the end of the game reads 12 rebounds, it does not mention 9 of them were his rebounding his own misses on 2 or 3 different trips down court.
I have come to the point of giving up the expectations that he will be able to elevate enough to finish with a strong flush deep in the paint, don't know if it is his body not reacting, his mind not being able to coordinate with his legs, or his heart not just in it, don't know if it is him or how our S/C coaching is working him, I just know something is not right, doesn't make sense.
What blows me away even more is you are 6'9" and you tip the scales around 265lbs and yet you seem to avoid contact, sure don't go seeking it out, even deep in the paint where the refs are usually gonna give you the trip to the line with the contact, rather that explode right in to your defenders body you try this twisting turning deal trying to avoid the very contact you should be seeking out? Explain that to me, your defender is camped within that block/charge circle and you don't punish him, who cares if ya make the shot, draw the foul, get that big in foul trouble and go to the line and make him pay.
I mean I have come to the point of having to ask, is your heart really in this big fella. I know you want the NBA paydays, do ya really love playing the game? Do you live to compete or do you compete so one day you can live easy? Recall the movie Blindside, "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane", is he Ferdinan the bull? Would someone please put in a call to Sandra Bullock, she is back on Earth now!
IDK, I just don't know, I want so badly to believe that what we have seen in the last 2 seasons past december from the kid was a product of sickness or injury that occurred during those seasons. I was easier for me to believe there was some undisclosed sickness that effected his second half of that soph season but to see a similar swoon and even earlier his Jr season, well twice in a row kind of becomes a pattern in my mind.
maybe it was something totally explainable both seasons, maybe he did get some kind of bug in that soph season and never recovered his legs, maybe that bone bruise did extend thru the entire season last time out, that is what I want to believe. But I need some official acknowledgement that is what happened, more so than speculation that it may have but no official statement to ease my mind.
What I see is a 6'9" 265lbs guy that has very little lift off the floor, who needs a step or 2 to dunk the ball and for some un-explainable reason camps out deep in the paint, the very worst place you could find a kid that can not explode up and thru contact to finish strong? I mean the replays roll thru my head still, Meeks down deep in the paint gets a great pass, he pump fakes his defender once, twice, thrice, and he goes up and his shot is blocked by the defender that never had to have his feet leave the court? Or it finishes differently, he throws up some twisting turning wild deal, rebounds his own miss, puts it back up, rebounds his own miss, and then finally it goes in or the other team rebounds. His stat line at the end of the game reads 12 rebounds, it does not mention 9 of them were his rebounding his own misses on 2 or 3 different trips down court.
I have come to the point of giving up the expectations that he will be able to elevate enough to finish with a strong flush deep in the paint, don't know if it is his body not reacting, his mind not being able to coordinate with his legs, or his heart not just in it, don't know if it is him or how our S/C coaching is working him, I just know something is not right, doesn't make sense.
What blows me away even more is you are 6'9" and you tip the scales around 265lbs and yet you seem to avoid contact, sure don't go seeking it out, even deep in the paint where the refs are usually gonna give you the trip to the line with the contact, rather that explode right in to your defenders body you try this twisting turning deal trying to avoid the very contact you should be seeking out? Explain that to me, your defender is camped within that block/charge circle and you don't punish him, who cares if ya make the shot, draw the foul, get that big in foul trouble and go to the line and make him pay.
I mean I have come to the point of having to ask, is your heart really in this big fella. I know you want the NBA paydays, do ya really love playing the game? Do you live to compete or do you compete so one day you can live easy? Recall the movie Blindside, "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane", is he Ferdinan the bull? Would someone please put in a call to Sandra Bullock, she is back on Earth now!
Confidence, health, and attitude. I believe he has been effected by a combination of all three of these. His attitude does not fit his body type. He is a finesse player in a bruiser's body and will need to adjust to his type. His health has left him unsure about whether his body will respond properly and he has become hesitant. Third, the other two and the desire not to let his teammates down have eroded his confidence.
Sean May is uniquely suited to teaching him to play to his type and hopefully health will take care of itself. I hope he can find a way to rebuild his confidence in his body and in his game!
I expect this next year to more closely mirror the first half of this year!
Sean May is uniquely suited to teaching him to play to his type and hopefully health will take care of itself. I hope he can find a way to rebuild his confidence in his body and in his game!
I expect this next year to more closely mirror the first half of this year!
Motor, motor and motor.
The truth is he can elevate. Won't knock your socks off with his vertical, but we've seen him do it. The problem is he doesn't do it from a stationary position. I often think Roy just needs to recognize that he isn't most effective planted close to the basket. Not only does that take away his dunking ability (he seems to need to be moving to get elevation) but also makes zero use of his good passing ability. Sure he LOOKS like he should be planted under the rim. But he PLAYS like he should be in the high post. More maybe moving through the middle of the key, like Deon used to do.
The truth is he can elevate. Won't knock your socks off with his vertical, but we've seen him do it. The problem is he doesn't do it from a stationary position. I often think Roy just needs to recognize that he isn't most effective planted close to the basket. Not only does that take away his dunking ability (he seems to need to be moving to get elevation) but also makes zero use of his good passing ability. Sure he LOOKS like he should be planted under the rim. But he PLAYS like he should be in the high post. More maybe moving through the middle of the key, like Deon used to do.
I noticed an odd thing about Brice from the NBA stats. Good wingspan. Even better vertical reach. I usually think of those going together so it made me stop and think. Brice has long arms but narrow shoulders and narrow upper body, generally. So those long arms are even more impressive when he's reaching up, than when he's spreading to the side.
I mention this because I wonder if Kennedy doesn't have sort of the opposite problem. I've never seen any measurements for him, but I've always thought that he doesn't have a particularly impressive wingspan. And being a broad fellow - where some of his wingspan is due to a broad frame - he may have an even worse vertical reach.
Anyone have any thots on this?
I mention this because I wonder if Kennedy doesn't have sort of the opposite problem. I've never seen any measurements for him, but I've always thought that he doesn't have a particularly impressive wingspan. And being a broad fellow - where some of his wingspan is due to a broad frame - he may have an even worse vertical reach.
Anyone have any thots on this?
I agree. It's obvious that Kennedy has physical limitations, but a low revving motor is his biggest deficiency, IMO. Unless he really steps his game up this year, he will have underachieved as much as any UNC player in recent memory, to my way of thinking. In lieu of hearing that his late season swoons were injury related, I have to attribute them to his laid back approach to the game.
I see almost no chance of him making an MBA team barring a huge explosion in his game, which I just don't see happening. He averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, shot 55% from the field, and 69% from the line. He appeared in 33 of 40 games, was 7th in minutes played and 5th in shots attempted. Frankly, if we get that same production from him, that may be all we can realistically expect at this point.
I have been a vocal proponent of using Kennedy more in the high post for two years now. IMO, it would maximize his passing and shooting skills and minimize his lack of athleticism.
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A couple of posters have mentioned a little meanness and I like that alot. Nobody can expect Meeks to play like Tyler H or JR Reid, George Lynch or David Noel but he does have good size and five fouls a game so Use that caboose and make room for yourself. Tyler H did not have great hops either but he was fearless in the paint as was May. Tyler got to the line so much because he looked for contact and there is no reason Meeks cannot do the same. Head fake, shoulder fake and find the opponents body. There is a reason it is called FREE THROWS...
I recall watching Meeks as a freshman and believe it or not he was in much better condition than he was in high school but it was really clear the kid needed to work on his body. He could not play much over 3mins a trip without being out of gas. But in those few minutes each time on the court you could see some really interesting things.Right off the bat this big kid had freakish passing ability that you would just not expect from a kid his size. I joked he had to learn to pass so he didn't have to run as much. LOL
The other thing that stuck out was this Meeks kid has an outstanding basketball IQ, he just seems advanced basketbal IQ wise and if he ever gets in shape we will have a special player. This kid would battle much longer players and was playing really well even if it was not for more than 3mins a run. This kid from the high post, just go ahead and book it, he was amazing at those crisp passes that found their mark and he also showed off a lil mid range game I didn't know he had, I was happy!
Then over that off season began getting word that Meeks was losing a lot of that excess weight, that we would be shocked when we saw him next and sure enough he comes out for that soph season transformed. His body was transformed and he made his magic mile time to? .Oh, it is on now, FINALLY we had a big man that could play inside, man it was on now. And then Jan came and Meeks caught a flu bug, several guys did as well, thing was the other guys came back, Meeks came back as well but for some reason it was not the same player, it was like a great V-8 motor missing on 4 cylinders, dang, just our luck, this kid has mono? No announcement but anyone paying attention saw it, this kid still has not kicked what ever that bug was, dang he was better at 320lbs.
Then came the next off season and I really wanted some official announce of what de-railed the kid's season but it never came, something was wrong with his body but he will have the whole off season to get over that and this kid would be fine. And sure enough come pre-season games, now that is the Meeks I have been waiting to see emerge, he was sharp, hands like vice grips, couldn't jump but he was effective, was not spending a lot of time at the high post where I preferred his passing to be but Brice was up there so OK.
And then December came and meeks is held out of a few games due to a bone bruise that was painful and was not getting better playing on it so Roy rested him early so he could be there for us later season, cool. So Roy sat him 3 or so games and then he is put back in as the starter and and and what the heck happened, this isn't the same Meeks that was playing on a bad bruise early on, this kid is just going thru the motions, and folks are talking him to the NBA after this season? Have I passed thru to bizarro world?
Someone informs me that a bone bruise is a serious thing, man I didn't know bones got bruises but I have had a lot of really bad bruises, it darn sure didn't slow me down like that, WTF. Now watching him it was clear to me that something physically was not right, surely there will be some official word on that, never came. Marcus the season before had Plantar Fasciatis and how many times were we given heads up on that, many. But no further word on what is going on with Meeks in either of the last 2 seasons, well that is just straight up weird? And yet thru most of the past season all ya heard was Meeks plan is to enter the draft after his Jr season and my question was to do what,man, I didn't know there even was a draft in bizzarro world, is Nate gonna enter it to, maybe Stillman should put his name in?
AC came on here telling me how the NBA scouts loved his "special" skills, yep, no doubt about it now, I am actually in bizzarro world, how the hell did I get here and can someone please tell me how to get back home, I ain't got no magic ruby slippers and I don't know any lions, tigers, or bears, oh my....
As one poster said in a previous post, "he is who he is". Physically he is going to win 50% of his matchups. The part that is frustrating, he should be winning 90% of his matchups with his ability. Meeks had a really good stretch last season. We saw him shoot grab rebounds and defend the rim. So we know he can do it, but we also know he prolly will not.
He already has this, he's had it since high school. He can't get his shot off inside, he needs to be in the high post. If he were a dominant rebounder, it would be one thing. But many of his boards come from his own point blank misses. He would bring the other team's center away from the basket, negating the rebounding/shot blocking advantage he has over Kennedy. And Kennedy could utilize his great passing skills to our forwards cutting to the basket. It would also facilitate more drives by our athletic wings by improving our spacing and decongesting the lane area. And again, he possesses a very good 15-18 foot jumper.
He's very much a finesse player. It's high time we conceded that and optimized the talents he does have.
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