Cats must contain Kennedy Meeks

Kennedy Meeks is a top freshman for the North Carolina Tar Heels but his bruising 6-9, 290 pound frame seems more suited for the gridiron than the court. Nevertheless, it surely sends folks in Chapel Hill back to the days of Sean May wearing the Carolina blue, and that worked out well for them. The four-star center from Charlotte has played solid minutes for the Heels this season, but none have been more solid than in the team’s two biggest upsets over Louisville and top-ranked Michigan State.

On the season Meeks is averaging just a little more than 14 minutes per game, and he’s using those minutes wisely, scoring 8.5 points per game and hauling in nearly 7 rebounds. To put that in perspective, Kentucky’s Dakari Johnson is averaging more than 10 minutes per game and he’s only logging 4 points and 3.5 rebounds in his time.

But what makes Meeks a concern this weekend is his performances against Louisville and Michigan State — two major upsets for the Tar Heels that nobody saw coming. Against U of L and MSU, Meeks averaged 21 minutes, 14 points, and 9.5 rebounds. That kind of production from a freshman off the bench might not seem like a big deal to Kentucky fans, but it is. Stopping Kennedy Meeks will be crucial for the Cats to come away with a victory in the Dean Dome on Saturday.

Meeks shoots at a high percentage in the paint and he gets to the line. In the two games against the Cardinals and Spartans, he shot at a .785 percent clip and got to the free throw line 11 times. In his other six games this season he only shot .642 percent and attempted 16 free throws.

In addition to offensive output, his big body allows him to excel at rebounding, and for such a big guy, he has excellent court vision. One of his strengths is lobbing outlet passes off a defensive rebound for a wide open, some might say cherry-picked layup. Meeks had a number of these against Louisville and he played a role in breaking the Cardinals’ press over and over again.

Meeks is short for a true center, so Cauley-Stein will have the height advantage in the paint, but Julius Randle may need to provide support to account for his girth. Watch for double-teams down on the low block, as Randle might have a hard time body-to-body. Cauley-Stein will need to help on the weak-side getting deflections with his long reach to neutralize the scoring threat.

The last thing the Cats need is for Kennedy Meeks to get going the way he did against Louisville or Michigan State. Kentucky cannot afford to lapse defensively, especially on fast-break opportunities. North Carolina is one of the quickest teams in the country and they thrive off easy buckets in transition. Meeks is a key to getting that part of their game going. In big games, it seems the Tar Heels go as Meeks goes; so he should be a priority for the Wildcats on Saturday.

@StuartHammerKSR