Meeks stops pouting in UNC men's basketball win over NC State

Kennedy Meeks had four holes in his white knee brace. Some were big — oblong, about the size of a quarter — and some were small. Some were a little bloody, and some were clean cut.

He picked at them all the same. He was frustrated, after all. That tends to happen when Coach Roy Williams calls someone out.

Kennedy, what exactly did Coach say to you at halftime?

“To me? Just to stop pouting when he takes me out,” Meeks said. “I’ve got to still work my way into the game and all those types of things, which is true. Me as a player, of course I wanna stay in as long as I can, but it’s being part of the team. “It’s about the team.”

Right, the team. The then-No. 5 North Carolina men’s basketball team, which beat its crosstown rival, N.C. State, 67-55 Saturday at the Smith Center.

But at halftime, the game was far from decided. Tied at 29, the Tar Heels (16-2, 5-0 ACC) were struggling. Marcus Paige’s shots, for the second straight game, weren’t falling. Brice Johnson, UNC’s leading scorer, had two fouls and just four points.

And Meeks? Doing as his coach said: pouting.

“The first half, he didn’t deserve to play any more,” Williams said. “I told him at halftime, ‘You’re always concerned about yourself. You want to play more? Play better.’ It’s a pretty easy deal. If you’re freaking playing, you get more minutes.”

So Kennedy, play better. Five points in 12 minutes? Not good enough — the team needs you.

“In the second half, Kennedy was playing,” Williams said.

Playing is one thing — carrying a team almost single-handedly is another. Joel Berry finished the game with 14 points, but he only had eight in the second half.

After the break, Meeks went 8-for-10 from the floor en route to his team-high 23 points. Don’t forget the six rebounds and three blocks, too.

But it was the way Meeks played, more than his final figures, that helped the Tar Heels pull away from the Wolfpack (10-8, 0-5 ACC).

“In the second half, you didn’t see him fading away at all,” Paige said. “He was going right at them, even if he got his shot blocked — he was gathering himself, going strong, posting stronger and getting the ball closer to the basket.

“He was a man in the second half, and he was the big difference for us.”

When his team needed him most, Meeks responded. The 6-foot-10 junior — in his first serious minutes in over a month — buoyed a UNC offense that otherwise could seemingly do nothing.

He drained fadeaway jumpers, dove for loose balls and even slammed a breakaway dunk for good measure. Not even a late knee injury could slow him down.

And then, with just under a minute left, Meeks stepped to the free throw line. The game was already out of hand — two points would push UNC’s lead to double digits — but there was still more to be done.

So the ball left his grasp, but he kept his arms in the air, wrists bent as they were.

It flew through the air and bounced off the rim. And then, as it had all game, it dropped through the hoop. Meeks bent over, hands on his knees, and he stuck out his tongue.

He was tired. After all, he had done it all for UNC in the second half.

Then he picked at the holes in his knee brace again.

@BrendanRMarks

sports@dailytarheel.com