Kennedy Rashod Meeks (born February 5, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for

Cholet Basket Cholet Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Cholet, France. The club plays in the LNB Pro A, French League. Their home arena is La Meilleraie. Established in 1975, Cholet won its first French championship in the 2009–10 seas ...

of the

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athle ...

for

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and S ...

. He is a native of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

High school career

Meeks attended West Charlotte High School, where he averaged 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks as a senior. He was named to the McDonald's All-America team in 2013.

College career

Freshman season (2013–14)

As a freshman, Meeks averaged 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game and was named to the ACC All-Freshman team. He worked with North Carolina strength and conditioning coach Jonas Sahratian to slim down in the offseason.

Sophomore season (2014–15)

As a sophomore, Meeks was named an honorable mention All-ACC performer. He sprained his left knee in the Tar Heels' Round of 32 NCAA Tournament victory over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

. At the time, he was averaging 11.6 points, second behind

Marcus Paige Marcus Taylor Paige ( sr-Cyrl, Маркус Тејлор Пејџ; born September 11, 1993) is an American-Serbian professional basketball player for Monbus Obradoiro of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for the University of North Carol ...

and he led the team in rebounds with 7.4 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per game. He was in the midst of a scoring slump before the injury, scoring more than 10 points only once in the last eight games.

Junior season (2015–16)

As a junior, Meeks scored a career high 25 points against

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called ...

. On January 16, 2016, Meeks scored 23 points and 6 rebounds in a 67-55 victory against

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. He injured his left knee and was out for two weeks mid-season. He returned and helped lead UNC to the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

game, where they lost to a

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

by Villanova's

Kris Jenkins Kristopher Rudy-Charles Jenkins (born August 3, 1979) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of ...

Senior season (2016–17)

In his senior season, he helped the Tar Heels reach a second consecutive NCAA championship game, and he grabbed 10 rebounds to help his team beat the

Gonzaga Bulldogs The Gonzaga Bulldogs () (also known unofficially as the Zags) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Gonzaga competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

71–65. Meeks registered a strong run of performances at the end of the season, breaking Tyler Hansbrough's school record for the most rebounds in an NCAA tournament.

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2013–14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 17 , , 16.3 , , .548 , , - , , .586 , , 6.1 , , .8 , , .3 , , .8 , , 7.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2014–15 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 32 , , 23.3 , , .562 , , .000 , , .641 , , 7.3 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , 1.2 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 28 , , 20.6 , , .563 , , – , , .708 , , 5.9 , , 1 , , .8 , , 1 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 40 , , 40 , , 24.3 , , .555 , , – , , .622 , , 9.5 , , 1 , , 1 , , 1.2 , , 12.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 144 , , 117 , , 21.3 , , .557 , , .000 , , .634 , , 7.3 , , 1 , , .7 , , 1.1 , , 10.4

Professional career

Raptors 905 (2017–2018)

After going undrafted in the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players ...

, Meeks was signed by the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

for their Summer League team and for training camp. He was waived by the Raptors on October 7, 2017. As an affiliate player, he was picked up by the

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, Ontario, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fin ...

SeaHorses Mikawa (2018–2019)

On November 24, 2018, Kennedy Meeks signed with the SeaHorses Mikawa of the Japanese

B.League The B.League is a professional men's basketball league that began in Japan in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that ...

Levanga Hokkaido (2019–2020)

On June 30, 2019, Meeks signed with the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

for the Summer League. On September 26, 2019, Meeks signed with

Levanga Hokkaido Levanga Hokkaido is a Japanese professional basketball team based in the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido. The club was founded in 2006 as ''Rera Kamuy Hokkaido'', this name comes from the language of the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenou ...

of the Japanese

Seoul Samsung Thunders (2020–2021)

On December 20, 2020, Meeks signed with the Seoul Samsung Thunders of the South Korean KBL to reunite with former Tar Heel teammate

Isaiah Hicks Isaiah Dwayne Hicks (born July 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for San-en NeoPhoenix of the B.League. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. High school and college career In his senior season at ...

Cholet Basket (2021–2022)

On September 29, 2021, Meeks signed with

of the

Career statistics

, - , align=center , 2017–18 , align=left ,

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

, 45 , , 27.7 , , .505 , , .056 , , .761 , , 9.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 12.9 , - , align=center , 2018–19 , align=left , Aishin Sea Horses ,

, 37 , , 32.0 , , .493 , , .222 , , .695 , , 11.0 , , 5.2 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 14.7 , - , align=center , 2019–20 , align=left ,

, 31 , , 34.1 , , .514 , , .364 , , .825 , , 11.0 , , 2.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 21.0 , - , align=center , 2020–21 , align=left , Seoul Samsung Thunders , KBL , 8 , , 17.6 , , .429 , , .000 , , .500 , , 7.6 , , .9 , , .6 , , .1 , , 8.6 , - , align=center , 2021-22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 25 , , 15.5 , , .463 , , .318 , , .818 , , 3.6 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 7.4

Playoff statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018 , style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 25.3 , , .488 , , .250 , , .727 , , 9.4 , , .8 , , .8 , , .4 , , 9.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 5 , , 5 , , 25.3 , , .488 , , .250 , , .727 , , 9.4 , , .8 , , .8 , , .4 , , 9.8

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meeks, Kennedy 1995 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Japan American men's basketball players Basketball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Centers (basketball) Cholet Basket players Levanga Hokkaido players McDonald's High School All-Americans North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Raptors 905 players SeaHorses Mikawa players United States men's national basketball team players