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January 10, 2013

Meadows sinks 1,000

By SCOTT NOBLE

PRINCETON —  On Tuesday, the Princeton Senior High School varsity basketball team celebrated a hard-earned victory over a talented Huntington squad; and celebrated a rare milestone by their leader, Ryan Meadows.

This past week, Meadows reached the 1,000-point plateau for his career. When the topic of 1,000 points comes up, names such as Rod Thorn, Allen Williams, and Jim Miller come to mind. The aforementioned are legends of Princeton basketball, and, like Meadows, were team leaders who brought more to the court than individual accomplishments.

“Scoring 1,000 points is a special moment,” said Miller via telephone from Charlottesville. “The success the team is enjoying right now [probably] outweighs the individual milestone in Ryan’s eyes” he added.

Miller said what Meadows has done through his hard work and passion for the game helps the team as a whole, and he, along with many other fans, feel a level of excitement and optimism about the team’s success thus far.

Excitement was definitely the catch word at Tuesday night’s game. Fans were adorned with “Ryan 1,000” T-shirts and buzzing with anticipation for the game and a chance to commemorate Meadows’ success and the stellar play of the Tigers.

Early in the first quarter, Meadows was fouled and went to the line for a two-shot foul. After he made the second free-throw, play was stopped, and PSHS principal, Jack Parker stepped on to the court and presented Meadows with a game ball, which he tossed to family members sitting in a very spirited cheering section.

“Ryan is not only a great player, he is a great student, person and the consummate team player,” said Parker.

Parker pointed to Meadows’ dedication to his training, his team and the level of his character as ingredients to his success. PSHS Head coach Ernie Gilliard was in agreement with Parker.

“Ryan is a big reason for the team’s success this year; he is a very hard worker and we are grateful to have him,” he said.

Gilliard hopes Meadows’ legacy of dedication will prompt other kids to embrace his work ethic and continue the level of play the team has exhibited the past couple of years.

Another coach who was impressed by Meadows was Huntington head coach Ron Hess. He sees a maturity on the court few others at Ryan’s level tend to possess so early on.

“Ryan is very heady; he sees things on the court before they happen, which is unusual at this level of play,” he said.

According to Hess, great court vision is essential to successful guard play and Meadows has deftly honed this skill.

Meadows’ basketball talent and 4.1 GPA have garnered the attention of higher learning institutions such as Rice, Fairmont State, Ferrum and others, and according to his father,

Joe, the younger Meadows, takes it all in stride.

“Ryan is [very] grounded and just wants to play basketball; he plays like Mr. Everything, but it is the team that is important to him,” he said.

Meadows said his son started playing basketball at around 6 years old and never looked back. A couple of seasons of soccer were sprinkled in, but basketball was his first love. When asked about his son’s interests outside of basketball and academics, he replied, “church,” with a smile.

Apparently, his son regularly leads teammates and family to church as well.

“Ryan has led every team he has been in scoring and has always been a leader on the court, but what people do not always see is what a leader he is as a person,” he said.

Meadows talked with the Princeton Times late last week, as the 1,000-point mark neared.

“I can remember being a little kid and just being excited to put on the Princeton jersey,” he said. “It’s really an honor to score 1,000 points in this uniform.”

Meadows also gave credit to his teammates, saying that the Tigers’ inside presence has opened up the perimeter for the guards this season and his teammates have made life on the court easier for him.

One thousand points is not all that Meadows hopes to accomplish this season. He wants to see the Tigers continue to win and eventually make the state tournament.

After Tuesday night’s game, the Tigers savored the victory and along with their leader. They will move on in hopes of continuing a hard earned winning streak. Their next contest will take place at home on Friday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m. against George Washington.

Princeton Times reporter Matt Christian contributed to this story.

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