UNC’s Meeks Riding a ‘Rollercoaster’ Season
The West Charlotte HS alum talks about his weight loss this off-season and the disappointment of an injury in December.
CHAPEL HILL, NC (WCCB Charlotte) — Kennedy Meeks has lived through a wide-range of emotions during his junior campaign at North Carolina
“A roller-coaster,” Meeks said when asked to sum it into one word.
The latest high was Kennedy Meeks’ 12 points, 14 rebound performance, his second double-double of the season, in a 76-72 win over Duke on Saturday night.
It was a season that ended with North Carolina claiming the ACC regular season title.
But for the West Charlotte alum, it was anything but a walk in the park. Meeks hit a major road-bump earlier this season after a knee injury sidelined him for nearly a month.
All the more painful because of the dedicated, discipline-filled, physical transformation he made during the off-season where he dropped 50 pounds.
“I think the biggest thing for me was putting away those fast food restaurants or me not hanging out late or going out with my teammates,” Meeks said. “Those are the little things that make the difference between winning and losing.”
“Those are the things that make the difference between scoring a lot of points or getting a lot of rebounds.”
Meeks high school coach at West Charlotte, Baronton Terry, says his former player is finding a new game in his new body.
“I thought that he was a little better in the post with his bulkiness on,” Terry said. “So he had to understand how to play with less weight.”
Nearly all of his teammates in Chapel Hill are in the exact, opposite boat as Meeks–they all need to put on weight to make the leap to the next level.
Teammate Isaiah Hicks, who was in the same recruiting class as Meeks, says he is inspired by Kennedy’s journey.
“He would wake up (and go) and jog. Just do something (every morning). I was like, ‘dang’,” Hicks said.
For Meeks, it’s all part of the process to get his game to the next level and to accomplish his dream of being a NBA player.
As North Carolina, the number-1 seed in this week’s ACC Tournament, approaches the post-season, Meeks is hoping to make a big impact for his team. He’s hoping that all his hard work cutting weight will have a direct result in cutting down the ultimate prize.
That being cutting the nets down at the Final Four in Houston.
