Photo Courtesy of Clay Jackson. Check out more photos from CJ.
Sometimes you just have those recruits that you simply KNOW will pan out. The first time you see them, they have that spark in their eye that says "no matter what, I will be successful and I will make it on the next level." That confidence in ability is something I saw immediately in one Jodie Meeks. Coming out of Georgia, Meeks had every skill necessary to succeed on the college level. And last year at Kentucky, Meeks showcased all of them. He was praised in high school for his defense and from the get go last year, he played some of the best perimeter defense we have seen from a Freshman at UK in some time. His athleticism was also amazing, as he used his Keith Bogans-esque combination of quickness and strength to dominate smaller defenders. And his shooting range came through night after night as he often became the best scorer on a team desperate for offense. Add in the fact that his best game may have been against the rival Louisville Cardinals and Jodie did a lot to impress the UK fanbase.
Now comes his Sophomore season where Jodie will make the transition from bench contributor to focal point of the offense. When he arrived at UK, I said that Jodie had the potential to be one of the better four-year players UK would have going forward and this is the year we begin to see that. It is likely that Meeks will be a crucial part of a three-guard offense that uses quickness and three point shooting to make up for a lack of scoring on the interior. On a team that often struggled down the stretch last season, Meeks will be asked to be that crunch time player again and give the key shot at the key moment in big games. I have extremely high hopes for Meeks....HUGE even. He becomes a star beginning this season and I am excited to watch it.
Some Jodie Meeks clips.....versus Louisville:
a huge dunk against Arkansas:
MOSLEY:
Jodie Meeks ended last season as UK’s fourth leading scorer checking in with an 8.4 ppg average. However,this does not take into account that Meeks really began to find consistency on the offensive end later in the year as he scored in double figures in his last six SEC contests. Jodie will start this year and will be loved by both Coach Gillispie and Cat fans alike as he begins to resemble a senior-year Keith Bogans by season’s end. Meeks is exactly the kind of player Gillispie does well with: hard-nosed, physical, and a workaholic. Prediction: Meeks becomes the Cats go-to guy in crunch time due to his lack of fear and his ability to hit free throws. After he completes his senior year at UK, Meeks plays for 10 years in the league as a very productive sixth man. He wins this award three times and even makes an all-star game his sixth year. During the 2011-2012 season, he will catch flu for a week-long period, but will not be greatly affected by it. Jodie will ultimately retire back to Lexington, where he will pursue a quiet life as a mixed martial art fighter. In only his fifth match, he will defeat a now 71 year-old Chuck Liddell for whatever title and weight class is most popular at the time. He will take all his winnings, travel to Argosy Casino and place it all on “red”. The result of this action will be what Kentucky fans got all too used to during Jodie’s time in the bluegrass: Meeks wins.
DUFRESNE:
Allright all kidding aside...this guy is awesome. He's got great presence and energy on the court, and does all of the right things off of it. He is very quick, he consistenlty hustles despite being up by 20 or down by 5, and has shown shades of an ability to be clutch when called upon. One of my favorite players to watch last year, and as the year went on, he just got better. We should expect big things from him next year and in the future. Seriously he may be the second coming of Jesus...or at least Keith Bogans.
TOMLIN:
Dear Coach Gillispie,
During our routine psychological check of your 2007 team, I uncovered an anomaly you should be aware of. You may have noticed that during the recent "Midnight Madness," while other members of your team were displaying their colorful and humorless personalities, sophomore guard Jodie Meeks was noticeably absent from such tomfoolery. While his teammates "acted all crazy," and "were trippin'," Meeks sat quietly in the background, stoic and unphased.
I'd like to bring to your attention today that while many of us would agree that the world needs laughter, I can assure you that Jodie Meeks' world does not need laughter. When assessing his personality, I noticed a surprising attention to focus and discipline that, in my professional opinion, has left him no room for humorous release. This, however, is not necessarily a bad thing -- I think we can both agree that Jodie Meeks' transition from quiet freshman to basketball-crazed manchild toward the end of last season was truly inspiring for the team's future, and that Meeks' aggressive attitude toward taking his place among his colleagues will undoubtedly make for a valuable addition to your team in the upcoming months.
I subjected him to a series of tests to gauge this theory, and found that while he noticeably reacted to replays of bad calls or losses from last season, he remained unfeeling toward my extensive DVD collection of "Mama's Family." I at first believed this to mean that Vicki Lawrence's refreshing brand of character humor was not to his liking, but I then recorded a similar lack of response when I played some of my favorite episodes of "The George Lopez Show" -- a program my colleagues and I enjoy quite frequently during our personal get-togethers. Subsequent tests also yielded like results when I showed him a series of hilarious e- mail forwards, including one where a dog is wearing a silly hat and seeming to say "I hate Mondays", which I consider to be infallible. At one point during this procedure, I detected a faint smile, but later deducted that Meeks was only thinking about hypothetically coming up with a loose ball during the last thirty seconds of a game.
While you may at first be alarmed that Meeks' inability to laugh, I must inform you that it's not necessarily a bad thing; truly some of the greatest college basketball players of our time have forgone humor for a greater focus on the game. Florida's Corey Brewer, for instance, never once broke his facade, even when I played him an increasingly hilarious series of flatulence audio. And Arkansas' Scotty Thurman had no physical or mental reaction to a t-shirt I bought in a gas station which read "Tell your boobs to stop staring at my eyes." This can, believe it or not, be a signal that the player in question is simply involved in the welfare of his team, and it is my professional opinion that Jodie Meeks will serve the Wildcats well this year.
In response to your other inquiry, I regret to inform you that no, I do not believe you can pass Jodie Meeks off as Kelenna Azubuike in the 2007 season. While I realize Azuibuke was a fan favorite, and that he and Meeks share many similar qualities, there is simply too much of a paper trail.
Therefore, I submit to you that Jodie Meeks is in fine form to play this season, is devoted to his team and his personal development, and will turn out amazing results for the Kentucky Wildcats. Also, as per your request, you may feel free to borrow my copy of Disorderlies whenever you wish; simply contact my receptionist.
Yours,
Dr. Kaiser Phlanderdam
The Phlanderdam Institute
INTERN:
So often in sports, certain players are characterized as having "it." What exactly encompasses that ubiquitously vauge attribute has yet to be defined, but it didn't take long for us to realize our man Jodie Meeks is "it." For me, "it" is a quirky combination of talent, IQ, heart, loyalty, and leadership. He's the player who illicits "better-day" flashbacks from your father and sincere adoration from grandma. Think of some of the great Kentucky teams from the past and what common attributes they shared, besides straight bad-assery. They had at least one "it" guy, be it Ford, Mash, Delk, Wal-tah, Shep, Hayes, etc, etc. You simply cannot win a national championship without an "it" guy (see Memphis, among others). If Meeks decides to stay long enough to earn a degree, I truly believe we'll one day see his jersey in the rafters of Rupp Arena, Hall Hall (thanks SoCalWill), or whatever palace this team calls home in the future. A gentleman and a baller, Jodie Meeks, "it."
TURKEY HUNTER:
"Blessed are the Meeks, for they shall produce one
ballin’ son " Matthew 5:5
I don’t know about you, but just thinking about Jodie
Meeks makes me wanna shoop. Meeks can create with or
without the ball, possesses tremendous speed, and has
more hops than Oktoberfest. Somehow, even with all
the talent at guard this season, the spotlight seems
to be shining extra bright on Jodie . Not since
Lexington Steele have we seen someone so adept at
finishing around the hole and I fully expect him to
expand on that aspect of his game this season. Meeks
should be a force on defense this year using his
athletic prowess to harass defenders the full length
of the court. Prediction: If Coach G asked Jodie to
guard the California wild fires, they would be
smothered in a 10 count.
Jodie Meeks may very well be the beneficiary of our
13 guard offense. When faced with that situation,
other teams may be tempted to have forwards
occasionally step out on him due to his size. Think
results somewhere along the lines of Senator Larry
Craig planning your bachelor party.
I know we have guys on this team that can score, and
Jodie is one of them, but what really excites me is
what I think Billy G can do with him defensively.
Utilizing Jodie as a tenacious on ball defender will
create turnovers and physically drain opponents to the
point where Keightley can check them
6 bourbons deep. Expect Jodie to be a tremendous
defender by April and reponsible for more frustration
than an abstinence pledge.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
Photo Courtesy of Clay Jackson. Check out more photos from CJ.
Sometimes you just have those recruits that you simply KNOW will pan out. The first time you see them, they have that spark in their eye that says "no matter what, I will be successful and I will make it on the next level." That confidence in ability is something I saw immediately in one Jodie Meeks. Coming out of Georgia, Meeks had every skill necessary to succeed on the college level. And last year at Kentucky, Meeks showcased all of them. He was praised in high school for his defense and from the get go last year, he played some of the best perimeter defense we have seen from a Freshman at UK in some time. His athleticism was also amazing, as he used his Keith Bogans-esque combination of quickness and strength to dominate smaller defenders. And his shooting range came through night after night as he often became the best scorer on a team desperate for offense. Add in the fact that his best game may have been against the rival Louisville Cardinals and Jodie did a lot to impress the UK fanbase.
Now comes his Sophomore season where Jodie will make the transition from bench contributor to focal point of the offense. When he arrived at UK, I said that Jodie had the potential to be one of the better four-year players UK would have going forward and this is the year we begin to see that. It is likely that Meeks will be a crucial part of a three-guard offense that uses quickness and three point shooting to make up for a lack of scoring on the interior. On a team that often struggled down the stretch last season, Meeks will be asked to be that crunch time player again and give the key shot at the key moment in big games. I have extremely high hopes for Meeks....HUGE even. He becomes a star beginning this season and I am excited to watch it.
Some Jodie Meeks clips.....versus Louisville:
a huge dunk against Arkansas:
MOSLEY:
Jodie Meeks ended last season as UK’s fourth leading scorer checking in with an 8.4 ppg average. However,this does not take into account that Meeks really began to find consistency on the offensive end later in the year as he scored in double figures in his last six SEC contests. Jodie will start this year and will be loved by both Coach Gillispie and Cat fans alike as he begins to resemble a senior-year Keith Bogans by season’s end. Meeks is exactly the kind of player Gillispie does well with: hard-nosed, physical, and a workaholic. Prediction: Meeks becomes the Cats go-to guy in crunch time due to his lack of fear and his ability to hit free throws. After he completes his senior year at UK, Meeks plays for 10 years in the league as a very productive sixth man. He wins this award three times and even makes an all-star game his sixth year. During the 2011-2012 season, he will catch flu for a week-long period, but will not be greatly affected by it. Jodie will ultimately retire back to Lexington, where he will pursue a quiet life as a mixed martial art fighter. In only his fifth match, he will defeat a now 71 year-old Chuck Liddell for whatever title and weight class is most popular at the time. He will take all his winnings, travel to Argosy Casino and place it all on “red”. The result of this action will be what Kentucky fans got all too used to during Jodie’s time in the bluegrass: Meeks wins.
DUFRESNE:
Allright all kidding aside...this guy is awesome. He's got great presence and energy on the court, and does all of the right things off of it. He is very quick, he consistenlty hustles despite being up by 20 or down by 5, and has shown shades of an ability to be clutch when called upon. One of my favorite players to watch last year, and as the year went on, he just got better. We should expect big things from him next year and in the future. Seriously he may be the second coming of Jesus...or at least Keith Bogans.
TOMLIN:
Dear Coach Gillispie,
During our routine psychological check of your 2007 team, I uncovered an anomaly you should be aware of. You may have noticed that during the recent "Midnight Madness," while other members of your team were displaying their colorful and humorless personalities, sophomore guard Jodie Meeks was noticeably absent from such tomfoolery. While his teammates "acted all crazy," and "were trippin'," Meeks sat quietly in the background, stoic and unphased.
I'd like to bring to your attention today that while many of us would agree that the world needs laughter, I can assure you that Jodie Meeks' world does not need laughter. When assessing his personality, I noticed a surprising attention to focus and discipline that, in my professional opinion, has left him no room for humorous release. This, however, is not necessarily a bad thing -- I think we can both agree that Jodie Meeks' transition from quiet freshman to basketball-crazed manchild toward the end of last season was truly inspiring for the team's future, and that Meeks' aggressive attitude toward taking his place among his colleagues will undoubtedly make for a valuable addition to your team in the upcoming months.
I subjected him to a series of tests to gauge this theory, and found that while he noticeably reacted to replays of bad calls or losses from last season, he remained unfeeling toward my extensive DVD collection of "Mama's Family." I at first believed this to mean that Vicki Lawrence's refreshing brand of character humor was not to his liking, but I then recorded a similar lack of response when I played some of my favorite episodes of "The George Lopez Show" -- a program my colleagues and I enjoy quite frequently during our personal get-togethers. Subsequent tests also yielded like results when I showed him a series of hilarious e- mail forwards, including one where a dog is wearing a silly hat and seeming to say "I hate Mondays", which I consider to be infallible. At one point during this procedure, I detected a faint smile, but later deducted that Meeks was only thinking about hypothetically coming up with a loose ball during the last thirty seconds of a game.
While you may at first be alarmed that Meeks' inability to laugh, I must inform you that it's not necessarily a bad thing; truly some of the greatest college basketball players of our time have forgone humor for a greater focus on the game. Florida's Corey Brewer, for instance, never once broke his facade, even when I played him an increasingly hilarious series of flatulence audio. And Arkansas' Scotty Thurman had no physical or mental reaction to a t-shirt I bought in a gas station which read "Tell your boobs to stop staring at my eyes." This can, believe it or not, be a signal that the player in question is simply involved in the welfare of his team, and it is my professional opinion that Jodie Meeks will serve the Wildcats well this year.
In response to your other inquiry, I regret to inform you that no, I do not believe you can pass Jodie Meeks off as Kelenna Azubuike in the 2007 season. While I realize Azuibuke was a fan favorite, and that he and Meeks share many similar qualities, there is simply too much of a paper trail.
Therefore, I submit to you that Jodie Meeks is in fine form to play this season, is devoted to his team and his personal development, and will turn out amazing results for the Kentucky Wildcats. Also, as per your request, you may feel free to borrow my copy of Disorderlies whenever you wish; simply contact my receptionist.
Yours,
Dr. Kaiser Phlanderdam
The Phlanderdam Institute
INTERN:
So often in sports, certain players are characterized as having "it." What exactly encompasses that ubiquitously vauge attribute has yet to be defined, but it didn't take long for us to realize our man Jodie Meeks is "it." For me, "it" is a quirky combination of talent, IQ, heart, loyalty, and leadership. He's the player who illicits "better-day" flashbacks from your father and sincere adoration from grandma. Think of some of the great Kentucky teams from the past and what common attributes they shared, besides straight bad-assery. They had at least one "it" guy, be it Ford, Mash, Delk, Wal-tah, Shep, Hayes, etc, etc. You simply cannot win a national championship without an "it" guy (see Memphis, among others). If Meeks decides to stay long enough to earn a degree, I truly believe we'll one day see his jersey in the rafters of Rupp Arena, Hall Hall (thanks SoCalWill), or whatever palace this team calls home in the future. A gentleman and a baller, Jodie Meeks, "it."
TURKEY HUNTER:
"Blessed are the Meeks, for they shall produce one
ballin’ son " Matthew 5:5
I don’t know about you, but just thinking about Jodie
Meeks makes me wanna shoop. Meeks can create with or
without the ball, possesses tremendous speed, and has
more hops than Oktoberfest. Somehow, even with all
the talent at guard this season, the spotlight seems
to be shining extra bright on Jodie . Not since
Lexington Steele have we seen someone so adept at
finishing around the hole and I fully expect him to
expand on that aspect of his game this season. Meeks
should be a force on defense this year using his
athletic prowess to harass defenders the full length
of the court. Prediction: If Coach G asked Jodie to
guard the California wild fires, they would be
smothered in a 10 count.
Jodie Meeks may very well be the beneficiary of our
13 guard offense. When faced with that situation,
other teams may be tempted to have forwards
occasionally step out on him due to his size. Think
results somewhere along the lines of Senator Larry
Craig planning your bachelor party.
I know we have guys on this team that can score, and
Jodie is one of them, but what really excites me is
what I think Billy G can do with him defensively.
Utilizing Jodie as a tenacious on ball defender will
create turnovers and physically drain opponents to the
point where Keightley can check them
6 bourbons deep. Expect Jodie to be a tremendous
defender by April and reponsible for more frustration
than an abstinence pledge.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
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