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UK Basketball: Meeks show amazing

February 16, 2009|Keith Taylor/Sun Sports Editor

Jodie Meeks outscored his teammates. He almost scored more than Arkansas.

With Patrick Patterson out of the lineup because of an ankle injury Saturday, the only thing the Razorbacks had to do to be successful against Wildcats was simply stop Meeks.

Easier said than done.

The Jodie Meeks Tour made a stop in Fayettevillle and left town with a piece of history after scoring 45 points in the Wildcats' 79-63 win over the Razorbacks, coached by former Kentucky standout John Pelphrey.

The final tally by Meeks was the most ever scored inside Bud Walton Arena.

"Jodie Meeks was fantastic," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie said. "I didn't know he had that many points. I knew he had 23 at half. I've never seen anything like what he's done for us this year. It's not like we say, â??Jodie shoot it every time,' he just makes stuff happen."

It would have been easy for Meeks to take it upon himself intentionally to carry the team on his shoulders, but Meeks didn't change his approach.

"I try to approach the game the same way without Patrick being there," he said.

Meeks knew he was in a zone after connecting on his third trey and didn't look back.

"I felt like I was really in a rhythm," he said.

When Meeks is on top of his game, it just flows to the rest of the team. It also makes things easier on both ends of the court.

"When Jodie is making shots like that it takes pressure off of us," said Kentucky guard Michael Porter, who connected on a pair of 3-pointers and finished with eight points.

Gillsipie said Meeks is "turning into a complete player" with each outing.

"He makes the same cuts at the beginning of the game that he does at the end of the game," the Kentucky coach said. "He runs just as hard at the beginning as the end. He practices like he plays."

Pelphrey said his team had no answer for Meeks.

"Meeks had an awesome performance," the former Kentucky standout said. "He's been good all season. We were just another defense left in his wake. He has an ability to almost see through you, to not pay attention to you and get shots off."

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