Why North Carolina Forward Kennedy Meeks Is Batman
The North Carolina Tar Heels best player was supposedly Marcus Paige, but it appears that Kennedy Meeks actually is.
There is one general consensus when it comes to one of DC Comics greatest superheroes, Batman. It’s that he’s one of the most respected superheroes in modern history. There is an affinity for Batman because in some ways he’s very relatable.
For those who grew up without parents, Batman did as well. For those who grew up in rough situations, Batman did as well. For those who became successful after going through a lot of difficulty in childhood, guess what, Batman did as well. Even for people with terrible living situations, Batman can relate because Gotham is filled with villains who want to blow up the city, criminals who work with the police and mob bosses set to destroy anything good on each and every street corner.
The real reason people really relate to Batman is because he was a superhero that posed as a regular guy, Bruce Wayne.
In some ways the 6’9 forward for North Carolina, Kennedy Meeks, looks like he’s been reading a lot of DC comics recently because Meeks also resembles a regular guy, but he’s playing like North Carolina’s superhero.
Meeks might be looked at as just another player in college basketball, but when it turns into game time Meeks begins to transform into the Dark Knight and becomes the superhero that North Carolina needs to persevere in games.
The preseason hype for North Carolina was given to their starting point guard Marcus Paige, and for good reason. As a sophomore Paige averaged 17.5 points on 44 percent shooting, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. But for some reason a lot of attention and notoriety got glossed over when it came to Meeks. In some of the biggest games of the season the freshman Meeks had the most impressive games.
Last year when North Carolina was unranked and played against the Michigan State Spartans on the road Meeks had the best game out of all the Tar Heels. He scored 15 points in 18 minutes and also had seven rebounds, one assist and one block. Oh yeah I forgot to mention he did that against a front line that featured Adreian Payne who was a first round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Still not convinced? Meeks even left his imprint against the Iowa State Cyclones in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Playing in his first NCAA Tournament he finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks.
But let’s stay in the moment because his most recent performance came against No. 12 Ohio State. Meeks didn’t play well offensively, only scoring eight points, but he did everything else well. In a victory against Ohio State he finished with a final stat line of eight points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
On the year Meeks has gotten significantly better and looks like North Carolina’s best player. He’s averaging a team-high 13.8 points on an incredible 65 percent shooting from the floor, a team-high 9.1 rebounds, and he’s contributing in other ways with 1.2 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.
We can see the strides in his game even by looking at the smallest of plays. In one of the eye-opening plays against Ohio State, Meeks showed off that he was a much improved passer. On one defensive possession, Meeks boxed out, grabbed a rebound and hurled the basketball with an overhand pass to forward J.P. Tokoto. At that point it was hard to tell if North Carolina had Kevin Love playing for them, not to mention that he also had five offensive rebounds.
Meeks is quietly playing like the person that North Carolina needs to win. Most college basketball teams love playing through guards to win games but traditionally the North Carolina Tar Heels have always been led on the shoulders of the post.
Before Meeks was at North Carolina there was Tyler Zeller, Tyler Hansbrough, and before that duo was Sean May. North Carolina and Roy Williams use the post to establish the offense and the point guard is traditionally used as the person who pushes the tempo and racks up all of the assists like Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton.
That’s why Paige got so much hype in the beginning of the season because people weren’t expecting a guard to lead a school that normally uses the post to establish its offense.
If flying under the radar was a skill Meeks would have the medal of honor because he ranks in the top five in the ACC in rebounds and field goal percentage, is top 10 in blocks per game, and he’s a top 15 scorer in the ACC for a team that doesn’t run set plays for him.
If Meeks was doing his best Batman impersonation it’s working because North Carolina’s best player isn’t Marcus Paige, it’s Kennedy Meeks.