Meeks leaving a year too soon

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June 27, 2009

By JON WEBB The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Jun 27, 2009, 11:47 AM CDT

A heartfelt congratulations to Jodie Meeks.

He was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of Thursday’s NBA draft, joining a really, um, “proud” Bucks tradition.

If signed, he could potentially become a millionaire, or at the very least a not-to-scoff at thousand-aire.

He could have also, to paraphrase the Bluth family from Arrested Development, made a huge mistake.

Meeks is coming off a junior season at Kentucky in which he averaged 23.7 points per game and firmly established himself as a premier outside shooter.

He dropped a school-record 54 points on Tennessee and their unnaturally-sweaty coach last January and led all scorers in the SEC for the season.

Sounds like a good time to jump into the NBA draft, right? A grand time to flee Lexington in favor of an obese paycheck and, God willing, a loyal posse, correct?

Not so much.

By leaving UK this year, Meeks may be missing out on a potential career-year.

Thanks to John Calipari’s recent arrival and a crop of Fab-Five-ish freshmen (sans the bookmaker buddies, one can only hope) UK may possess its best chance for a national title in 11 years.

Incoming point guard John Wall’s Stretch Armstrong athleticism will no doubt work perfectly in Calipari’s dribble drive offense, and six-foot, ten-inch Daniel Orton will draw defenders into the paint like Calipari to a can of pomade.

And once defenses collapse on a driving guard or a bumping big man, who reaps the benefits?

Outside shooters like, you guessed it, Jodie Meeks.

Another impressive year in college could prove to NBA scouts that his 23.7 PPG in ‘08-’09, which came after successive 8.7 and 8.8 PPG campaigns, wasn’t a fluke.

Meeks could also utilize an extra year to add a second dimension to a stat-line that goes pretty dark beyond his shiny scoring average.

This is not to say Meeks couldn’t, hypothetically, have an exceptional, Ray-Allen-esque or, at the very least and more fittingly, Rex Chapman type career.

But the plight of the pure-scorer guard — especially those who stand 6-foot 5-inches and under — is riddled with disappointments.

Take former Duke guard J.J. Redick.

He averaged 26.7 PPG his final year at Duke, and was buried in trash bags of awards like the Sporting News Player of the Year, the John Wooden Player of the Year, etc.

Now, though, he averages 6-some per game for the Orlando Magic a team that, no-matter how many NBA Finals they fall backside-backward into and how many past-prime, overrated guards they acquire on draft day, is middling at best.

Even taller pure scorers like rebellious-Tom-Selleck Adam Morrison soon learn NBA competition is riddled with strong, smart and Flubber-shoed players who can easily transform a dominant college scorer into the equivalent of a blind man going up against a slew of cocky optometrists in a competitive eye test.

Yes, there are exceptions.

Former IU / now Clipper guard Eric Gordon averaged 20 a game as a rookie, despite his size and one-dimensional skills.

Dwayne Wade’s game developed upon his arrival to the NBA and he has since become a dominant scorer and defender.

But here’s the thing about exceptions: they are exceptions.

And exceptions don’t often come in the form of a second-round draft-pick serving as the backup for Michael Redd.

Although Meeks’ now-impossible senior season could have left him languishing in a top-tier freshman class’ shadow, it could have also provided another year of mid 20s per game scoring.

It also would have include a chance to become a defensive threat, a chance to improve his ball handling, a chance to win a national championship and encase himself as one of the all-time UK greats.

But oh well. I hear Milwaukee is lovely in the winter.

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