Kennedy Meeks leads the way in UNC's 90-72 rout of Davidson

CHARLOTTE — It’s the dunk that everyone will remember.

A one-handed, monster slam that J.P. Tokoto caught behind his head and jammed home with his right hand on an alley-oop from Justin Jackson to put the North Carolina men’s basketball team ahead of Davidson 88-64 Saturday.

“I mean I’m confident if the ball’s in the air, I’m going to go get it, yeah,” said Tokoto after UNC’s 90-72 victory against the Wildcats at Time Warner Cable Arena Saturday. “I usually catch it with two hands. The one hand — just for style.”

But it’s the play of center Kennedy Meeks that Coach Roy Williams will remember — because on Saturday, Meeks gave him a reason to not forget.

WIth 19 points and 12 boards, Meeks led the Tar Heels (3-0) in both categories, and was second in minutes only behind junior point guard Marcus Paige, once junior forward Brice Johnson got into foul trouble.

Meeks' two steals were a game-high in what Williams said was the Tar Heels’ best defensive effort thus far, and his three assists were two shy of leading that category for UNC, too.

“Kennedy’s better at it than any other player I’ve coached,” Williams said of his ability to throw the outlet pass in transition. “And the other guys say, ‘Well I can do that, too.’ It makes some guys run more because they know that he’ll throw it. That’s always good.”

Meeks, who reported to Chapel Hill at 319 pounds as a freshman is down to 270 now as a sophomore, and is still discovering the capabilities of his new body. His stamina is higher, he’s quicker in transition and he’s able to play more minutes — even if he doesn’t quite recognize it yet.

Just moments after Meeks lifted his fist to signal to Williams that he was exhausted and ready to exit the game with just fewer than four minutes remaining, the Charlotte native picked off Davidson guard Brian Sullivan’s pass, sprinted down the court and threw down a two-handed dunk in a two-second span while also drawing the foul. Flashing the crowd a quick flex, Meeks smiled as he put the exclamation point onto an already memorable day in front of his mom, sisters and brother in Charlotte.

“I always want to come back here and play, have a good game of course,” Meeks said. “I guess I wasn’t as tired as I thought I was. But that’s for anybody — if you get a steal, why not go ahead and finish it?”

Williams struggled when a reporter asked him if he had ever coached a player that has transitioned as quickly and as smoothly as Meeks has between his freshman and sophomore campaigns.

Nick Collison came to mind, now a 6-foot-10, 255-pound forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who was on the NCAA All-Final Four Team in 2003 as a senior under Williams at Kansas.

But Collison is only a close second to Meeks.

“No,” Williams said. “I haven’t had anybody like that.”

Meeks’ effort and attitude are contagious, freshman swingman Justin Jackson said Saturday. The Tar Heels know that despite his youth, they can count on him, and they’ll need that heading into a competitive preseason tournament in the Bahamas that features a first-game matchup with Butler, whom the Tar Heels played in 2012-13 and trailed by 29 points at one point in the game.

“Anytime somebody is playing hard like Kennedy was today and giving his all, everybody else feeds off that,” Jackson said. “We look at each other as a family, so if one guy’s not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, they’re failing the family.”

On Saturday, Meeks was the unifying force of that family.

But for him, it's simpler than that. He's not caught up in the hype, and instead is just a college kid working each day at the game he loves and trying to have some fun in the process.

“How’d you get so good at those outlet passes? “ a reporter asked. “Do you practice them?”

Meeks smiled.

“Jesus,” he said to a huddle of laughs. “He helped me out.”