UNC Basketball: Can Kennedy Meeks dominate this season?

Is it possible for Kennedy Meeks to be a powerhouse in the paint this year?

Entering his senior season, Kennedy Meeks and the North Carolina Tar Heels are looking to put Villanova’s national championship buzzer beater behind them.

Nothing would be better for Meeks in his last season at UNC than to go out as a national champ. In order to do so, he’ll have to dominate his matchups throughout the season.

That’s not going to be the easiest thing for him to do. With North Carolina facing a slew of top 25 opponents in and out of conference, Meeks will have his hands full.

Let’s look briefly at three things that are key in order for the 6-foot-9, 290-pound power forward to dominate on the court this season.

His his presence on the scoreboard

This year, with the absence of Brice Johnson, Meeks will be depended on more so than in times past.

One could argue that’s not the case given the progression of senior forward Isaiah Hicks also in the UNC front court. The Tar Heels also boast five-star freshman Tony Bradley and rising sophomore Luke Maye who will help carry the load.

However, that may not be the case.

With Hicks’ history of foul trouble, we really don’t know how long he might be on the bench throughout each game. This is one reason it’s so important for Meeks to put points on the board.

In his freshman year, he managed a mere 7.6 points per game. That’s understandable, given that he came into Chapel Hill raw but talented freshman, weighing 317 pounds.

He entered his junior season having cut 60 pounds off his newly reformed frame. In that year,  the Junior had 9.2 points per game. That number was actually down from 11.4 points per game in his sophomore season. This season, he must average more than 9.4 points per game.

How much should he average? All in all, Meeks should have no problem averaging 15 points or more per game.

His presence on the backboard

Throughout his career, the senior has only averaged one block per game. That number needs to increase.

No forward that has ever been a dominant forward has ever done so averaging only one block per game. Once again with the absence of Johnson, the need for some hands in the air will be a must.

However, with the weight as he’s lost, and providing he has done his homework in the off season, he should be right up there with Bradley and Hicks when it comes to shutting offenses down and sending balls into the bleachers.

Secondly, there’s the disparity in turnovers. Over his career, Meeks has averaged more giveaways than takeaways. This must also change. He only turns the ball over 1.3 times per game, so maybe I’m being a little hard on him. Nevertheless, he must get that number down to around 0.5 per game. He needs to get the 0.6 takeaways (or forced turnovers) up to around two per game.

Lastly, let’s talk about his rebounds. During his three years, Meeks has collected 6.5 rebounds per game, and in his best season, he had just over seven. Just as with his scoring average, it needs to come up, and he needs to pull anywhere from 10 to 15 boards per game.

His presence as a leader

Some would argue that this doesn’t make a dominant player, but I beg to differ. The leadership role he has come into needs a voice, and he must embrace his chance to be vocal.

With the departure of the emotional and aggressive Brice Johnson, it is imperative that he set the tone for the big men in UNC’s front court.

He has to be focused on keeping the younger guys poised, and on point in all situations. He has to keep heads in the game, and help them to leave everything in the world off the court when the game is on.

To sum it up, Kennedy Meeks will be just fine this season, and he will dominate. Let us not forget, he plays for one of the best programs in the history of college basketball. The ACC is also arguably the best conference in America.

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