GLENDALE, Ariz.– To paraphrase the great Michael Jordan, the ceiling was the roof for North Carolina’s powerful 6-9, 260-pound senior forward Kennedy Meeks here Saturday night.
Meeks powered his way to 25 points and 14 rebounds as the Tar Heels overwhelmed competitive Oregon during a 77-76 victory in the NCAA tournament semi-finals at the University of Phoenix Stadium here last night to advance to the championship game Monday night against Gonzaga.
His career night put him in extraordinary company, joining Larry Bird, Danny Mannlng, Carmelo Anthony and Ed O’Bannon as the only players in the last 40 years to score at least 25 points and grab 14 rebounds in a Final Four game.
Meeks personally kept the road to redemption open for this ACC regular season championship team, which is still haunted by that heart breaking buzzer beating loss to Villanova in last year’s national championship game in Houston.
“I kind of had it in the back of my mind,” Meeks said. “I just knew that we had to be aggressive in the paint,” he said. ‘Coach (Roy Williams) told us it was going to be a man’s game and us four big men had to do a great job on the inside. Isaiah (Hicks) wasn’t making any shots. Luke (Maye) kind of hadit going, but then they kind of took it away. So I took it upon myself to try to do the best I could to call for the ball, especially when my teammates got into trouble.”
Meeks shot for 11 for 13. controlling everything inside. Junior All American forward Justin Jackson finished with 22 points on 6 of 13 shooting with a pair of threes.
But the rest of the Carolina team bricked 8-of-42 shots, making it a lot tougher on Tar Heels down the stretch after they squandered a double figure lead.
This was much more of a survive and advance game than an artistic masterpiece. North Carolina shot just 38.6 percent on the big stage where depth perception in a wide open stadium was an issue. Hicks totally disappeared, shooting just 1 for 12. Joel Berry II, North Carolina’s second leading scorer who had been bothered all week by sprained ankles, shot a miserable 2 for 13 and North Carolina opened the door a crack for Oregon– whose two best shooters Dillon Brooks and Tyler Dorsey– shot just 5 for 22– to almost force overtime despite shooting just 37 percent as a team.
Oregon pulled within one when Keith Smith’s scored on a layup with seven seconds to play. Carolina had two chances to lock up this game in the final moments. Meeks got fouled, stepped to the line and rimmed out two free throws. Oregon forward Jordan Bell got his hand on the back of the ball, but Theo Pinson’s Carolina’s active, all purpose wing, out jumped him, batting the ball back to Berry. Oregon was fouled to foul again with 4 seconds left , wrapping up Berry. But Berry, an 81 percent shooter from the line, missed both shots. Bell appeared to corral the second off the backboard, but Meeks wrestled it away from him, then kicked it out to Pinson as the time ran out.
“My main focus was, if Joel missed the second free throw, to hit the offensive glass hard,” Meeks said.
If normally poised Carolina (32-7) continues to play with fire like that, the Tar Heels could easily get burned by a Gonzaga team that is shooting better and is just as big, if not bigger up front. In fact, CBS replays indicated Meeks may have pushed Bell out of the way to gain position. But there was no whistle and
Bell, for his part, did not complain about a non-call on the final possession .
“He just took it from me,”Bell said.”I hit him and went for him, instead of holding onto the ball. We talk about it all the time because it happens all the time.”
Bell was in tears as he leave the floor.
“Jordan felt terrible,” Oregon coach Dana Altman admitted. “But I told him, ‘Buddy, you got 16 rebounds, we wouldn’t ” have been in this position if it hasn’t been for you. So all the kids felt bad. We had 5.8 seconds. We had time to get a look. And we just didn’t get it done.
Meeks has the physical ability to do some serious damage. He grew up in Charlotte as a Carolina fan and his favorite player growing up was Sean May, the MVP of UNC’s 2005 national championship run. When he arrived at Carolina, he used to play in pick up games against May, who had since joined the Carolina coaching staff as director of player personnel. May can’t coach Meeks in practice and he is constantly sending him points and game film to look at.
Meeks’ progress has undergone a stunning four year evolution at Carolina as he transformed himself from a little used overweight freshman to a trimmed down force throughout this tournament, grabbing 17 rebounds and blocking four shots in last week’s Elite Eight win over Kentucky in Memphis. He will need to throw his weight around — and stay out of foul trouble– if the Tar Heels want to slow down Gonzaga’s two seven-footers– fifth year senior Przemek Karnowski and freshman Zach Collins
And he is one of the few bigs in the country with that type of strength and power.