Kentucky guard Jodie Meeks will remain in the NBA Draft and not return to campus for his senior season.
“I want to thank the fans and the city of Lexington. They have been great and I will always be a Kentucky Wildcat,” Meeks said. “I feel comfortable with my decision and I’m confident in my ability. My family and I talked over the weekend and decided this was the best decision.”
The deadline for withdrawing from the draft was 5 p.m. Monday.
Meeks, a second-team AP All-American, averaged 23.7 points and dropped 54 against Tennessee.
His return would have almost certainly made the Wildcats a contender for a national championship in John Calipari’s first year at the school.
The Wildcats are still loaded with big men Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton and DeMarcus Cousins, wing man DeAndre Liggins and incoming guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe.
In other NBA Draft news, the Knicks will work out Arizona junior forward Jordan Hill on Tuesday afternoon.
The 6-10 Hill averaged 18.3 points and 11 rebounds last year at Arizona. Read more about him at DraftExpress.com.
jayhawkfan11 / June 15, 2009
Well, there goes Kentucky fans dream of being Pre-Season #1. Now there will be no doubt that KU will be the #1 team in the nation. Maybe UK will gel come March.
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theruckus33 / June 15, 2009
KU would have been consensus #1 whether he stayed or left
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jhawk4 / June 15, 2009
im not so sure. with meeks gone KU definately is. but UK might have been if meeks would have stayed.
im surprised he’s leaving to be honest i thought he would have wanted to come back.
this makes UK awfully young next year.
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DrDick / June 15, 2009
I agree KU was pre-season #1 regardless of what Meeks did at Kentucky. With the players Kansas has returning and their excellent recruiting class KU is the team to beat.
If Kansas wins it all this year they can thank John Calipari for giving them another national championship. He gave them one by not fouling or calling a time out at the end of the game. Taking the Kentucky job Cal pushedt Xavier and CJ Henry to Kansas and gave them the key players they need to win another championship. Kansas should honor Coach Cal for helping them win championships.
Meeks did the right thing. Go to the NBA now why your stock is high. If he returned his position would have dropped because John Wall will be the star and have the ball. Calipari would probably bench Meeks so his own recruits could play.
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blasphemy / June 15, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
I think I’m starting to like you. You actually have deep knowledge of the game, and have a probablistic hesitation when making comments. Good comment. =P
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freddyd / June 15, 2009
I’m probably in the minority here, but I’m not sure that KU got a better deal out of taking Xavier instead of Lance Stephenson… I think Xavier is every bit the head case that Lance is, but I still think Lance is a better ball player, and would have been more humbled coming to KU than Xavier is… Fact is, the kid didn’t want to go to KU 9 months ago, and it took his folks poking and prodding him to finally select Lawrence…
Lance was all about coming to KU, saw his chance to improve as a person and basketball player, as well as get away from NYC and experience a different speed of life in the Midwest while still getting all the love and admiration that goes along with being a KU Basketball Player in Kansas… In some ways, I don’t thank Calipari and while I’m the last guy to criticize Bill Self for recruiting, because he and Calipari are neck-and-neck as far as I’m concerned when it comes to recruiting – cue the arguments – I believe Self made the wrong decision with the Henrys over Lance…
Of course, cutting down the nets in Indy next April will help me forget all about it…
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pastaboy / June 15, 2009
Meeks is nothing but a spot up 3 guy in Cal’s system ….Dodson can hit the 3 and slash ….. and Hood is supposed to be a good 3 shooter. I would agree Ku is pre-season number one …and probably would have been regardless of Meeks …and now Ky. may actually see Bledsoe and Wall on the court at the same time.
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blasphemy / June 15, 2009
Meeks can’t slash to the rim? Really? I guess his multiple shake and bake’s were just for show…..
(The rest is not facetious in nature)
I think* Bledsoe would have shared time with Wall regardless. I say this because Bledsoe (from what I understand) is better than Miller, Dodson, and Hood. Although he can’t shoot the three like the others, Wall can (though from what I hear it is streaky at times) but it is usually adequate to have gone along with Meeks. But, thats just speculation, just my opinion. Nothing can really be proved one way or the other now that Meeks is gone……. (I’m crying inside!)
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blasphemy / June 15, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
As a Kentucky Fan, I disagree. I’m not as close to your program as you are, but I personally believe that Xavier is better. Why? Because not only does he have an intimate knowledge of the KU squad (from what I wittnessed from theshiver’s interview with him) but he can do something everybody loves seeing, knock down the three. As a Kentucky fan, I would take Xavier ANY DAY over Stephenson. Funny enough……. now that Meeks is gone….. we can fill in ONE more player for the 09 class. Doubt any more would come, and don’t want any others……… Holdover sounds nice to me.
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pastaboy / June 15, 2009
shake and bake all you want …if you can’t go to the basket and dunk over the defense …you’re probably not on Cal’s recruiting list .
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pastaboy / June 15, 2009
Besides …its U.S. Open week …..my talent can’t be wasted in here during the the best sporting event of the summer …..
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blasphemy / June 15, 2009
Ya, the shake and bake comment wasn’t reffering to anything about going to the basket….. lol. He got around them and stopped, thats what he did! He never dunked over anybody either. How many Kentucky games did you watch last year? Oh, thats right, you’re a Memphis grad! My bad lol.
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blasphemy / June 15, 2009
Ya, go get your golf on. Want a peppermint and a Caramel candy to go with it? How about a good cup of joe with no sugar for the old-timer within?
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pastaboy / June 15, 2009
How many Ky. games did ANYONE watch last year? ……not sure about the response to the U.S. Open golf ? …….it takes 3 years to become bad at golf ….
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pastaboy / June 15, 2009
and Bledsoe isn’t near the talent Dodson is …..how many Miami Dade games did you watch last year?
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Gohard / June 15, 2009
LOL! Good one! hahahaha i like this guy.
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OldTerp / June 15, 2009
UK and KU are both loaded with talent next year – I think KU will have a better start and should be #1 most of the year. UK could have used Meeks to settle them down but I’ll be interested to see how Calipari builds team chemistry. It can be tough to teach a bunch of HS All-Americans to share the ball and play as a team. As much as I despise Duke, I must give Coach K. a lot of credit for how his teams play together. He just hasn’t gotten a dominent center for awhile. ala Carlos Boozer or Sheldon Williams.
So where does Meeks go in the draft? I didn’t see him play at all last year (no offense to UK fans)
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blasphemy / June 16, 2009
Ya, how many games could a UK fan watch? It’s absurd to think ANY UK fan would watch ANY games or know anything about ANYTHING UK. I bet you graduated with honors with that kind of logic! Oh wise one, tell me more! Oh, and the golf thing was telling you that you were old, because you’re obviously great at discerning facetiousness!
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blasphemy / June 16, 2009
How many Parker’s High games did you watch? I should trust your opinion because you are obviously a great philanthropist with your deep insight! Have a nice day (night)!
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blasphemy / June 16, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
Kentucky fans are just as up in the air about where Meeks will be next year too. Some have him Mid first-round (local stuff, because he said he wouldn’t leave UK without a first round garuntee from a team) most have him somewhere in the second round. Still some have him undrafted (if he doesn’t get a good deal, he could not get a contract that he desires, also local speculation). Great post
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jhawk4 / June 16, 2009
i think meeks is good enough to make an NBA roster somewhere. if not then worst case scenario for him is that he has to play in europe. he is going to make a boatload of money either way.
obviously meeks is comfortable with his options for the future based on the decision he made to go pro.
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