Auburn hoops: Stopping Kentucky's Meeks no joke

The smirk on his face and the chuckles in between each phrase couldn’t stop Rasheem Barrett from unleashing some playful smack-talk earlier this week.

Barrett and Auburn take on Kentucky and its prolific scorer Jodie Meeks today in Lexington. Barrett said he wants Meeks to be his responsibility.

No joke.

“I’m holding him to 2,” Barrett said through laughter. “He might get some free throws, so I’ll give him that.”

Meeks averages 25.7 points per game, by far the most in the SEC and the third highest average in the nation. He recently put up a Kentucky record 54 points against Tennessee.

Asked if he wanted to test his defensive fortitude against Meeks, Barrett craned his neck to see if coach Jeff Lebo was listening in a nearby office, and delivered his best campaign pitch.

“I’ll tell you right now. I told him the same thing. If the opportunity presents itself, I’m going to try to switch off on him,” Barrett said. “He’s going to get locked down by me, Rasheem Barrett. You put that down. He needs to get locked up.”

Barrett and Meeks, both Atlanta area natives, squared off against each other in high school and played together on the Georgia Stars, an AAU team loaded with college prospects.

The two have chatted in the days leading up to today’s game, Auburn’s fourth in the SEC. The Tigers are 1-2 after picking up their first conference win against Alabama on Saturday. The Wildcats are 3-0 and 14-4 thanks largely to the lights-out shooting of Meeks.

“I told him we’ve got to come in and calm him down a little bit — take him out of the kitchen,” Barrett said. “He’s a little bit too hot right now. The children aren’t ready to eat yet.

“He’s a great guy — great kid. He works hard and it’s showing up now and I’m proud of him.”

No matter what the defensive scheme is, Meeks has found a way to burn the opposition.

Meeks, a junior, has yet to be held under double digits all season. He does the brunt of his damage from beyond the arc, where he’s knocked down 44 percent of his attempts. That success rate has apparently boosted his confidence, as he’s averaging 8.8 3-point attempts per game.

Even if he’s having a sour night with his jumper, Meeks can tally up points by slashing to the hoop and running out in transition. Fouling him won’t accomplish much, as he’s knocked down all but 11 of his 120 attempts from the line, good for a 90.8 percent success rate.

Asked how to defend Meeks, Lebo was in just as much of a joking mood as Barrett.

“Got any ideas?” Lebo said. “He’s playing with such confidence right now. His shooting percentages are staggering. He’s doing it, and everybody knows he’s going to get it, and that’s when you know that you’re in a zone.”

Take out his 10-point, 4-of-17 shooting performance in a loss to Miami (Fla.), and Meeks has still averaged 25.3 points per game in the Wildcats’ other three losses.

So the junior sharp-shooter is still going to get his points, no matter what Barrett or the other Auburn defenders do. Shutting down the rest of the guys — such as Patrick Patterson, who tacks on a ho-hum (comparatively) 18.2 points per game — will likely dictate whether or not Auburn can sneak out of Rupp Arena with an upset.

“They have a perimeter player and an inside player that can hurt you,” Lebo said. “That’s what really makes them challenging and hard to figure out to defend.“

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