University of North Carolina Athletics
CAROLINA: Guardians Of The Glass
October 28, 2014 | Men's Basketball
NOTE: This article originally appeared in the Oct. 28 issue of CAROLINA, the official magazine of UNC athletics.
by Ben Brown
CHAPEL HILL—Throughout Roy Williams' tenure as the head coach of the North Carolina basketball team, he's made a point to have impact players in the paint. Whether it was Sean May, Tyler Hansbrough, Tyler Zeller or John Henson, opponents constantly had to figure out ways to try and stop Carolina's low post scorers. While each of those players were threats to score every trip down the court, they could also dominate a game on the offensive and defensive glass.
On this year's team, Williams will be looking for Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks to be those dominant rebounders for the Tar Heels. Although it would be completely unfair to compare Johnson and Meeks to any of Williams' previous star big men, both of them do have some traits that suggest that they can be a force on the offensive and defensive glass.
Meeks is a wide-bodied anchor in the low post who seems to have a knack for knowing how the ball will bounce off the rim, and Johnson is an explosive athlete who can out-jump opponents to pull down rebounds.
In North Carolina's first exhibition game of the year, against Fayetteville State, Johnson had 13 rebounds in 19 minutes of game action and Meeks had nine rebounds in the 15 minutes that he played. "I thought we rebounded well tonight," Meeks said after the win. "I thought it was a good effort, but we could've done a little better job boxing out. Some of [the rebounds] kind of just fell to us, but I thought we did good."
Johnson and Meeks did what you would expect against a much smaller Fayetteville State team, but it was a good initial sign moving forward for both players who made some changes to their bodies in the offseason.
After the win over FSU, Johnson said he's noticed a difference in how opponents play against him because of the extra muscle that is packed on his 6'9 frame. "I'm able to hold my position better and get off box outs better," he said. "People can't just hold me, and all the banging and bruising down low is easier to take now and it doesn't hurt me. It just feels like a little tap or something. It feels a lot different this year."
It will be interesting to see what kind of rebounding numbers Johnson and Meeks put up this season because it's clear that both of them have the talent to be in the upper echelon of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Last season, both players were in the top five in the conference in rebounds per 40 minutes played, with Meeks averaging 14 and Johnson averaging 12.5.
