Written by Isaac Strand

Concordia University Chicago (CUC) men’s basketball player Jalen Meeks, since his freshman year, has made an impact on the court. As well as being a successful player, both Meek’s friends and teammates insist that he is more than just a basketball player. Through interviews with his coach, teammate and friends, it became apparent that Meeks makes an immediate impact with everyone that he meets.

Meeks, as an only child, played a variety of different sports, but he claimed that basketball has always been his favorite sport. Being from Colorado, he saw CUC as being his last chance to play basketball for four more years. Through his first two seasons, anybody following CUC basketball can see that he has been a special player. Teammate Ben Parker talked about Meeks as a player, stating, “Jalen is such a good player, it’s always fun to watch him play because of the impact he makes. I hate playing against him in practice because he’s a straight up bucket, but it’s fun to compete against him because you get better.” In both of his first two seasons, Meeks was top five on the team in scoring, and also is one of the Cougars best defensive players, leading the team in steals last season.

His inspiration on the basketball court is his favorite player, Demar Derozan. Meeks said, “A lot of people have told me I play a lot like Derozan, which to me is an honor.” Going into his junior year, along with his teammates and new head coach Steve Kollar, Meeks is looking for huge improvements for his team. However, with the new coach comes a lot of challenges, those of which Meeks is adapting and embracing.

“Coach [Steve Kollar] is very detail-oriented and disciplined, which has kind of been a challenge because we haven’t had much of that in my two years, but in the long run it will be a lot better for us,” he said about the new coaching style. He is excited for the new system that he believes will be a perfect fit for him.

When talking about Jalen Meeks, both Parker and Coach Kollar referenced his high character and ability to be a leader. To Parker, his best quality is “picking people up when they make mistakes.” “He’s a leader on the team and people look up to him. He always seems to be encouraging people no matter the circumstance,” said Parker.

Before Kollar was officially hired, he was able to meet Meeks, and said “I was very impressed with his first impression, he was very respectful and attentive when asking questions, and he had a great personality while obviously being a very instrumental player to the program.” Coach Kollar referenced former CUC player Mitch Pelissier when discussing the leadership qualities of Meeks, saying “Jalen has taken a huge step forward as a leader in Mitch’s absence, both him and Neil [O’Donnell] want to be that next guy that players look up to and learn from, and with Jalen being here for two more years, he can help mold the current freshmen and sophomores to fill that role when he graduates.” With his high character and proven leadership qualities, it is no doubt that Meeks has the potential to fill the shoes of Pelissier.

Away from the court, Meeks describes himself as “creative, goofy, and unique.” This was strengthened by friend Brian Harris, who said Meeks “best qualities are what make him like a brother to me. His honesty, compassion and goofiness make him awesome.” Harris, who has been friends with Meeks since he was a Jumpstart leader for him in 2017, has seen him grow in his maturity and competitive nature, which is said to “always follow him off the court.” Being a hardworking student as well as an athlete, Meeks is hoping to make the all-academic team this year and is pursuing a major in business management.

Meeks has also set tall goals for himself on the basketball court. He discussed the chip on his shoulder heading into this season, stating, “I honestly feel like I got jipped of any kind of recognition after last year, so I want to be all-conference this year.” As a leader on the team, Coach Kollar also has high expectations of Meeks, explaining that he wants him to “continue to be a leader on and off the floor, being one of our best defenders and using his great versatility, as well as leading by example by doing well in the classroom and showing up early to what we’re doing.”

Meeks claims his biggest goal for the season is for the team to win the conference, and believes that his team is fully capable of that feat. His team begins practice soon, and is looking forward to their first game on November 8^th against Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa.