UNC Basketball: Kennedy Meeks renews rivalry with familiar foe

Kennedy Meeks squares off with former Gonzaga big man Przemek Karnowski during workout with Denver Nuggets

On Friday afternoon, Kennedy Meeks worked out for the Denver Nuggets, one of several teams that the former North Carolina big man has met with during his time before the NBA Draft on June 22nd.

Also at the Pepsi Center on Friday was former Gonzaga standout Przemek Karnowski. He, too, is looking to make a name for himself before NBA commissioner Adam Silver takes the podium in Brooklyn less than a week from now.

It was the first time that the two big men had taken the court together since North Carolina knocked off Gonzaga in the National Championship game in April.

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It was Meeks and the Tar Heels who got the better of Karnowski and the Bulldogs in the title game, winning 71-65 and taking home their sixth national championship in program history.

Meeks finished the game with seven points and 10 rebounds on five field goal attempts, while Karnowski shot just 1-of-8 from the floor and finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

Just a couple of months since meeting on college basketball’s biggest stage, the two renewed their low-post rivalry in front of NBA talent evaluators and executives.

And Meeks, who rarely shies away from a good sound bite, had a few things to say to the seven-foot big man from Torun, Poland.

"“We’ve been bruising each other up a little bit,” Meeks told the Denver Post. “It’s all fun and games and I can joke around about it with him a little more than some of his teammates. He’s a fun guy and a great player.”"

And while Meeks’ shot at being named to an NBA roster on draft night is much less likely than his UNC counterparts, Justin Jackson and Tony Bradley, he has impressed scouts and general managers with his toughness, ability to rebound and work ethic.

Meeks is expected by most to go undrafted, while Jackson and Bradley are both likely to be taken in the draft’s first round.

Keeping It Heel will have complete, up-to-the-minute coverage throughout the draft next Thursday night.

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