Jodie Meeks joining New Orleans Pelicans coaching staff

Jodie Meeks‘ playing career might be over, but his coaching career is only getting started.

According to WKYT’s Lyndsey Gough, Meeks told reporters on Friday ahead of his introduction into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame that he will be joining the New Orleans Pelicans coaching staff as an assistant. The former Wildcat has been an assistant coach with the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, since the 2022-23 season.

“When I got the call to try to go to the G League and see what happens, I was excited about it,” Meeks said on Friday, according to Ryan Black of the Louisville Courier Journal. “Stay around the game, get a chance to get on the floor with guys? It kind of just blossomed. (It’s been) a new challenge for me.”

Meeks will learn under Pelicans’ head coach Willie Green, who has been in charge of the franchise since the 2021-22 season. Green holds a record of 127-119 during that span, including two postseason appearances and a 49-33 mark this past season. The Pelicans recently lost assistant Fred Vinson, known as an elite shooting coach, to the Detroit Pistons.

Jodie Meeks says he’s getting into coaching with the New Orleans Pelicans pic.twitter.com/Osb8TSmN5j

— Lyndsey Gough (@LGonTV) September 20, 2024

Meeks is no stranger to the Big Blue Nation fan base. He’s best known for his 54-point performance in 2009 against Tennessee, the most points scored in a single game by a Kentucky player. During his junior campaign in 2008-09, Meeks was named a unanimous All-SEC First Team member and a Second-Team All-American pick by multiple outlets. He averaged 23.7 points per outing for the Wildcats that season while shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Instead of playing for new head coach John Calipari at Kentucky in 2009-10 for his senior season, Meeks opted for the NBA Draft where he was a second-round pick in 2009. He went on to enjoy a 10-year professional career, including stops with the 76ers, Lakers, Wizards, Pistons, Bucks, Magic, and Raptors, along with a brief stint in the BIG3.

Now, after being one of six alums inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, Meeks will look to dip his toe into the world of NBA coaching. He’ll have the opportunity to coach another former Wildcat too as the Pelicans drafted sharpshooter Antonio Reeves in the second round earlier this year.