TKR Breakdowns: Demetri "Meech" Goodson

For the second in our series of player breakdowns, The Kennel Report is taking a look at Demetri "Meech" Goodson. Meech is a Point Guard from Houston, Texas, where he attended Klein Collins high school. He is the 79th ranked player in the class of 2008 according to Scouts Inc. His brother, Mike, plays for the football team at Texas A&M.

Strengths: In Meech, Gonzaga is getting a true point guard. One of Meech's greatest strengths is his court vision. With all the weapons that GU will have over the next couple of years, it is vital that the point guard puts everyone in a position to score and make plays. In our interview with Meech and his coach, it was said that Meech is able to make everyone around him better. It is vital, that a point guard can dominate the game without having to score, and this seems to be the case with Meech. Toughness is another attribute of his game that will be important over the 4 years Meech is at Gonzaga. Prior to committing to Gonzaga, Meech had scholarship offers in football from Arizona State, and many other schools, even though he had not played the sport for a couple of years. Because of his football background, Meech will not shy away from contact, and will provide a toughness that is not always on display at GU. Lastly, I think that all fans should be prepared to see one of the quickest players they will ever see. Meech has been timed in the 4.4 range in the 40 yard dash, and his coach said that he is the quickest player from free-throw line to free-throw line that he has seen in 17 years of coaching. This will be important if the Zags are going to return to pushing the ball up and down the court like they have in years past. What makes Meech so rare is his great decision making at such a quick pace.

Room for improvement: The main weakness in Meech's game is his shooting. At the high school level, Meech was able to use his quickness to blow by defenders, no matter how far they backed off of him. However, at the D1 level, players will by much quicker and stronger. For Meech to be able to dictate the pace, and be able to get into the lane, he will have to be able to keep the defense honest. If Meech can develop a reliable jumper, he will be incredibly difficult to guard with all the quickness that he possesses. The other issue with Meech is his size. There is no denying that Meech is a strong and tough kid, but he is only 5'10 or 5'11. It will be interesting to see how Meech matches up with taller and stronger guards at the D1 level. Because of his size, it will be very hard for him to guard a player like Jeremy Pargo, who with his strength and height, would be able to dominate in the post. It will only be with the taller guards that size will be an issue for Meech, and hopefully he can make life difficult with his strength and quickness.

Projected Role: I expect Meech to be the primary backup for Pargo at the Point Guard position. This is the perfect role for Meech, as he can bring 15-20 minutes of energy and push the tempo off the bench. This will also allow for him to have a season under his belt to learn the offense, before he inherits the starting Point Guard role his sophomore season. He will also bring a sense of toughness, along with Gibbs, to the program, and I think he will push other guards for playing time. We might also see some times when Meech and Pargo share the back court, allowing Pargo to focus on more of a scoring role.

Summer Workout Plan: Meech will be arriving along with Andy and Grant for the second summer session. After he settles down and unpacks his bags, Meech should be in the gym shooting 100's of jumpers daily. As mentioned earlier, with a reliable jumper, Meech will be very difficult to guard. He should also try and spend as much time as possible picking the mind and watching tape of Pargo. The quicker that he picks up the offense, the bigger impact he can have early on.

In Meech, I believe that GU has the next great point guard, in its long line of great guards. Meech has the quickness and ability to be a great point guard not only at this level, but at the next. With Grant, Meech, and Steven at the guard position for the next 3 years, there is no shortage of versatility and talent. Look for Meech to bring a great sense of toughness, and great energy off the bench throughout the season.