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Happy Birthday to Jodie Meeks!

Jodie Meeks

- photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.com

Jodie Meeks was born August 21, 1987 in Nashville, TN. On January 13, 2009, he gained national recognition by breaking the single-game scoring record by scoring 54 points in a nationally-televised game on ESPN against Tennessee. In the same game, he broke the university's single-game three-point record by making 10 three-pointers.

 

Meeks attended Norcross High School, which he led to its first state basketball championship in 2006 under coach Eddie Martin. During his senior high school season, Meeks averaged 23.6 points per game during the regular season and 28.3 points per game during the state playoffs. Meeks was named the 2006 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Player of the Year . He was also named 2006 Gwinnett Daily Post Player of the Year, 2006 Atlanta Tipoff Club Metro Player of the Year and Player of the Month (February 2006).

 

Meeks made his college debut November 2, 2006 in an exhibition game against Lindsey Wilson College at Rupp Arena coming off the bench. He finished the game with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. He was named CBS/Chevrolet Player of the Game during the nationally televised game against Louisville in Freedom Hall, after pouring in a career-high 18 points in the Wildcats' win over Louisville on December 16, 2006. He was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Week three times during his freshman season. Meeks was a unanimous selection to the SEC All-Freshman team.

 

Expectations were high for Meeks coming into his sophomore season, and it appeared that Meeks was going to match those expectations after scoring 34 points in an exhibition game against Pikeville College. However, injury limited him to 11 games that season. On April 2, it was announced that Meeks was diagnosed with a sports hernia.

 

On December 20, 2008, Meeks scored a then-career high 46 points against Appalachian State at the annual home game for the Wildcats at Freedom Hall in Louisville. He tied former Kentucky Wildcat, 's record for most three pointers in a game with 9. He set a record for the most points scored by a wildcat in Freedom Hall with 46. He followed that performance two days later by scoring 32 points in just 28 minutes against Tennessee State University. Meeks and teammate Patrick Patterson are among 's more productive pairs of teammates since the days of and in the early 1970s.

 

On January 13, 2009, Meeks broke Kentucky's single-game scoring record (formerly held by Dan Issel) by scoring 54 points in a 90–72 win against rival Tennessee. In that game he also broke Tony Delk's single-game record, which he had shared, for three pointers by making 10 of 15 attempts and was 14 of 14 from the free throw line.

 

Meeks would again break the 40 point margin on February 14, scoring 45 points against the Arkansas Razorbacks team, a performance that produced the most points scored in a game by an individual at Bud Walton Arena. Meeks also broke the record for most 3-pointers in a season at UK, with 117.

 

Meeks was named a unanimous selection to the All-SEC First team during his junior season and was the first player since Chuck Hayes in 2004–05 to be named AP First Team All-SEC. He was named the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) District IV Player of the Year. Meeks was named a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and by Sporting News.com. Meeks was a consensus Second Team All-American in 2008–09.

 

On April 7, 2009, Meeks declared his eligibility for the 2009 Draft. During the 2009 NBA Draft on June 25, 2009, Meeks was drafted 41st overall by the . On February 18, 2010, Meeks was traded to the .

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