5 players who helped their draft stock most at the NBA Draft Combine

Kennedy Meeks, North Carolina

In the modern NBA, Kennedy Meeks is a bit of a dinosaur. No one is looking for a 6-foot-9, 290-pound center anymore. They want players who can be versatile and step out to the 3-point line.

Despite Meeks’ strong career at North Carolina, culminating in last year’s national championship, it did not seem the NBA was in the cards.

Yet, it is hard not to watch Meeks and think he can find some place in the league. Somewhere on the end of the bench, someone could use a bruiser who can rebound and score near the basket. He is not asking to be a regular rotation member. Just someone who can give a team something different.

Meeks showed a lot at the Combine to at least give some thought to going old school with one roster spot.

First, Meeks measured at 6-foot-10 with shoes and 277 pounds. He is still a big dude who is working to lose weight. Meeks clocked in with 11.5 percent body fat, among the highest of the Combine attendees. He still has some ways to go, but he has done a lot of the work to get where he needs to be already.

Meeks is not going to impress anyone in the individual drills. His value comes in games. And he stood out in the scrimmages (for whatever they are worth).

Meeks scored 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in Thursday’s game and followed that up with 19 points and 16 rebounds in Friday’s game. Those are impressive stat lines. It is hard to ignore.

If Meeks is going to get into the NBA, he did all he could at the Draft Combine to persuade a NBA team to take a chance on him. He will have to keep working as individual workouts begin in the coming weeks to improve his status.