Joe C. Meriweather (October 26, 1953 – October 13, 2013) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. A 6'10"

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

from

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

, Meriweather played ten seasons (1975–1985) in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

as a member of the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, New Orleans Jazz,

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

, and

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. He earned NBA All-Rookie honors in his first season, during which he averaged 10.2 points, 6.4

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 1.5 blocks. Over the course of his NBA career, Meriweather averaged 8.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks. Of note, Meriweather is one of a select few players who have blocked 10 shots in an NBA game more than once. Meriweather accomplished the feat twice during his career, first with the Jazz in 1977 (his only career triple double), and then again later with the Knicks in 1979. Those totals established franchise records for both teams; the Jazz record has since been broken by

Mark Eaton Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he w ...

numerous times, but Meriweather still holds the record for the Knicks (later tied by

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

). He played for the US national team in the

1974 FIBA World Championship The 1974 FIBA World Championship was the 7th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Puerto Rico from July 3 to 14, 1974. The tournament was won by the Soviet Union men's ...

, winning the bronze medal. Meriweather spent the 1985–86 basketball season playing for

Granarolo Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

in Italy. He coached the Kansas City Mustangs of the

Women's Basketball Association The Women's Basketball Association (WBA or WWBA) was the first women's professional basketball summer league, operating from 1992 to 1995. The league was called the WWBA and WBA for the first All-Star tour in 1992, before settling on WBA. The pion ...

professional league to an undefeated season in 1994. He also served as the head women's basketball coach at

Park University Park University is a private university in Parkville, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1875. In the fall of 2023, Park had an enrollment of 6,389 students. History The school which was originally called Park College was founded in ...

Parkville, Missouri Parkville is a city in Platte County, Missouri, Platte County, Missouri, United States and is a part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The population was 7,177 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to the 2022 census, the ...

, from 1997 to 2010 before resigning in March 2010. Meriweather died on October 13, 2013, in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

.Former Kansas City Kings Player Joe C. Meriweather Dies at 59
retrieved October 15, 2013

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

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, 36 , , , , 17.8 , , .449 , , , , .654 , , 5.1 , , .9 , , .5 , , 1.1 , , 6.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

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Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

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Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !3P% !FT% !RPG !APG !SPG !BPG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meriweather, Joe C. 1953 births 2013 deaths 20th-century African-American sportsmen 1974 FIBA World Championship players American women's basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Alabama Centers (basketball) Houston Rockets draft picks Houston Rockets players Kansas City Kings players Liga ACB players New Orleans Jazz players New York Knicks players Sportspeople from Phenix City, Alabama Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball players United States men's national basketball team players Utah Stars draft picks

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References