There has been plenty of talk about the big names from the NBA draft: Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, but very little has been said about Jodie Meeks. Meeks was the fifth leading scorer in college basketball before deciding to forego his senior season at Kentucky and enter the NBA. He is a terrific shooter, both coming off of screens and off the dribble, with a quick release and picture perfect technique. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted Jodie Meeks with the 41st overall pick in the draft and in doing so, may have found a diamond in the rough. Meeks outperformed all expectations with his play in the summer league, playing 32.2 minutes per game and averaging 19 points while shooting a pristine 56 percent from the field. After coming off the bench in the first game, Meeks started every game thereafter and continued to impress the Bucks staff. He scored 29 points in the final summer league game and was offered a 3-year contract by the Bucks shortly after. Summer league stats don't count for much once the regular season begins, however. Some of the leading scorers from the league won't get to see much more than the end of the bench this year, but if Meeks can earn some minutes in the Milwaukee rotation and can continue to shoot the lights out, then the former Wildcat may be able to make a name for himself in the NBA.
I hope Jodie Meeks does well in the NBA, but I still wish he had stayed for his senior year at UK. I think the Wildcats would be better if they had him this year and that he would also have benefitted from another year of college play, especially when he had the opportunity to play with some excellent players on his team.
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