Why Kansas native Zane Meeks wanted to finish basketball career at Wichita State

After spending the first five years of his college basketball career near the West coast, Zane Meeks was prepared to spend his last year close to his home state.

When the 6-foot-9 forward entered the transfer portal earlier this spring, Wichita State, a three-hour drive from his home in Prairie Village, a suburb of Kansas City, quickly emerged as a candidate. After fending off a late advance from Oklahoma State, the Shockers officially signed Meeks on June 12.

After joining the team this past week, Meeks explained why he felt like WSU was the right choice for the former Shawnee Mission East star after playing previously for Nevada (2019-21), San Francisco (2021-23) and Arizona State (2023-24).

“I have a lot of family from western Kansas and my dad grew up in Kinsley, so I’ve always had family ties here,” Meeks said. “It’s an incredible opportunity to come back home. I grew up watching the Shockers. I can remember Ron Baker hitting 3s in the tournament, so it’s really cool to be able to carry on that legacy.”

It was an ideal match in the portal: Meeks was seeking a Midwestern homecoming, while WSU was in search of a big man who could stretch the floor.

Meeks certainly fits the ball with 132 career 3-pointers to his name and 34.4% accuracy beyond the arc. That kind of flexibility allows him to pick-and-pop as a center or spot up in the corner as a power forward.

“Zane is known for his ability to shoot,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said in a statement. “He provides a shooting dimension to our team, from the frontcourt, that will allow us to utilize his skill set through a variety of offensive schemes.”

With the late addition of 6-foot-9 Croatian center Matej Bosnjak, the Shockers have three distinctly different looks they can play with at the center position.

Returning starter Quincy Ballard seems poised for stardom as a 7-foot, rim-runner capable of bending defenses as a vertical threat in the pick-and-roll game. Meanwhile, Meeks can apply pressure on defenses with his outside shooting by picking and popping to the perimeter, and Bosnjak can be a source of offense from the low post with his back to the basket.

Meeks, who could also split minutes with returner Ronnie DeGray III at power forward, said he has no preference on what position he plays for the Shockers.

“I’m just going to do whatever coach Mills needs me to do to help this team win,” Meeks said. “I can play (either position) and I add a different kind of dimension with my shooting ability. I’ve told the guards here, ‘Listen, I’m going to give you the most wide-open lane you’ve ever seen if I’m the one who is setting the high ball screen.’ I’m just trying to give my guards the most room to operate because when they have room to work, everyone is better.”

A lingering ankle injury sustained last summer limited Meeks to just five games last season at Arizona State. He said he has been healthy since March and has faced no limitations this summer in workouts.

Fully healthy again, Meeks is focused on refining the skill that makes him a weapon on offense: his shooting.

“As I start to learn the offense here, my shots specific to the offense will kind of develop over the summer,” Meeks said. “I can’t tell you the exact shots I’m going to be shooting, but I’m a big fan of working very specifically on what I’m going to be doing in a game. There’s not much reason to come out here and work on triple moves and step-backs. I’m not going to be shooting those in a game. I’m much more likely to be shooting a pick-and-pop 3 or pump fake and a side step.”

Shooting isn’t the only strength to Meeks’ game, as Mills specifically mentioned Meeks’ defensive rebounding ability when recruiting him. In the three seasons where he has averaged at least 16 minutes, Meeks has posted strong defensive rebounding rates.

He also has a proven track record as an efficient scorer for good offenses. Meeks averaged 9.0 points with 5.9 rebounds in 2020-21 for Nevada, then 10.9 points and 5.1 rebounds for San Francisco in 2022-23 with both teams finishing top-100 nationally in scoring efficiency during their respective seasons.

He hopes to continue that trend at WSU, which lagged to No. 209 nationally in scoring efficiency last season but has hopes for dramatic improvement with five returners and a strong recruiting class.

“Mills is an incredibly smart coach,” Meeks said. “I’ve only been here (for a week) and his attention to detail, I love that as a player. He already has got into our defensive stuff and it was my first workout of the summer. I love the fact that he’s straight to it and very analytical. He knows exactly what he wants you to do and that’s nice as a player when a coach is able to clearly communicate, ‘Hey, this is what we expect.’ I think that’s very helpful and we also have a lot of old guys, so I think that will pair very well together.”