GLENDALE, Ariz. — Kennedy Meeks imagined the possibilities, and smiled broadly, thinking about what Monday night would be like against one of his closest friends.
For the moment, top-seeded North Carolina’s season of redemption after losing last year’s title game at the buzzer didn’t seem quite as important. Facing South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell, the East Region’s Most Outstanding Player, on the sport’s biggest stage isn’t such a long shot.
“Of course you think about it. That would be a dream come true playing against him,” said Meeks, North Carolina’s senior forward, on Thursday. “His success, our success, it’s kind of all coming together.”
Meeks and Thornwell, South Carolina’s star senior guard, were AAU teammates with Team United for several years, and have become close friends. Meeks said Thornwell is one of his three closest friends, someone he trusts with anything. They talk frequently, offering each other advice.
When Thornwell’s uncle and father figure, Dajuan, passed away, Meeks was one of his first calls. They were planning to get matching tattoos — BFL: Brothers for Life — before the NCAA Tournament, but they couldn’t sync up their schedules. They still plan to get the tattoos after the season.
They met at the age of 13, Meeks from Charlotte, N.C., Thornwell from Lancaster, S.C., and quickly developed a bond. They would work out together and hang out on weekends, living less than a 90-minute drive from one another. There was talk of playing together in college, and North Carolina did recruit Thornwell some, but he opted to stay home in South Carolina and play for coach Frank Martin.
The two seniors could share the court again Monday night — if their respective teams win on Saturday, North Carolina knocking off Oregon, South Carolina toppling Gonzaga — only on opposite teams.
“It’s big time,” Meeks said. “Our AAU coach texted us both at the same time, basically said [he was] in tears watching us play, just because who ever thought we would be in this position we’re in, him coming from a rough place in Lancaster, me coming from kind of a tough area in Charlotte.
“To excel and achieve this much is really all you can ask for.”