Catching Up with Alex Meacham, Part 2

How did your fascination with Air Jordan shoes begin?

It all started when I was around 11 or 12 years old.  I have always been a huge Michael Jordan fan, and like so many other kids I believed that by owning those shoes, I could "be like Mike" and become better at basketball.  Many basketball players these days - Lebron James, Kobe Bryant - are popular, but are nowhere near the greatness or influence of MJ.

The shoes also have served as a great conversation piece. They have brought me a lot of attention and popularity with students and others.  My life has been about meeting people, and making connections, and the sneakers serve as an ice breaker.

You maintain an official relationship with Air Jordan. How has that worked?

The Air Jordan process started in ’99 – at the time, we were sponsored by brand Jordan. One day the team told us that a brand representative was coming to talk with us, and in through the door walks Gentry Humphrey, who was the director of the brand. Since I was already a big fan, I knew who he was and was really excited to have him here talking to us. Over the next hour or so, he essentially held a focus group with us: what do you like, etc. When we were done, I introduced myself and that began the relationship which led me to the process of being involved with Air Jordan. I went out a few times a year, learned more, became friends, and they knew I was passionate. 

One of my favorite shoes is the Jordan Air 5. Now when I wear the Jordan 5’s, I wear them with white laces – something no one else does because they are an all-black shoe. So one of the guys asks me at Air Jordan why I go with the white laces? After some conversation, he followed up with me a few months later with a new prototype based on the white laces and the other style points I told him about, and it just grew from there.

It was a great feeling in October 2010 to actually get the shoe I helped develop. Just like it was a dream for me to run on the court at Midnight Madness, it was a dream realized to hold a shoe I helped create.

So what happened after college basketball?

I remember my final meeting with Coach Huggins, he said, “You’re not going to the NBA – you’re not going overseas to play professionally. You’re going live, work and be a part of this community, you need to know the people who are influential in this city. People will know who you are since you played here, but you need to know who they are – it’s very important to treat people right and leverage your connections." He was right; I’ve met so many great people at the University, and I owe a tremendous amount to those who helped me.

After UC, I coached basketball at Walnut Hills High School for two years – and learned I had a passion for working with young people in basketball and in life. That experience was a springboard to start Shining Star Sports, a non-profit organization that helps build men and women into tomorrow’s leaders through the game of basketball. We put them on teams based on age, send them around the country to play AAU basketball, one-on-one instruction and coaching, and through this process, my staff and I have helped kids in a way that they wouldn’t have received otherwise. We help prepare them for life when the ball stops bouncing.  Our ten year anniversary was in April 2011.

In a way, I represent UC and I take pride in that and conduct myself in the proper way.

Do you have any advice to UC alumni and students?

The time you are at UC, be good to the people you meet, and realize there are a lot of people there to help you – such as teachers and administrators. Use them. Make connections. There are so many people who have come out of the University who have done great things in the community – get connected with them. Try an internship or something like that. I interned at 700 WLW and I got to know a lot of media people, and it’s great to leverage those connections. Figure out how to get in the door, but also be ready to make an impact once you’re in – and that’s the education piece of things.

Take advantage of the resources around you. Everything I’ve done in this life goes back to my mother and father putting me in good positions, the great influence from my brother, and of course the opportunities I had at UC. Lean on those people and let them help you.

We thank Alex Meacham for sharing his story! 

Please share your thoughts below.

Catching Up with Alex Meacham, Part 1

Photo Credit: The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

UC alumnus and former basketball player Alex Meacham, started collecting Air Jordan sneakers when he was only 11 years old – and now holds a collection of more than 350 pairs!

His story received quite a bit of media attention. We caught up with Alex shortly after the media blitz to learn more about his collection. We were fascinated by the stories a he shared about his time at UC, his current work, and his advice for students and alumni. The second part of our interview with Alex  will be posted tomorrow! 

What made you want to attend UC?

I grew up on campus essentially, because both my mom and dad worked at UC when I was a kid. Because I was here so much seeing them, I got to know lots of different people and became familiar with the University before I was even in high school. Our family also went to a lot of basketball games, and I absolutely loved the atmosphere in Fifth Third Arena.

Starting around 9 years old, my dream was to attend UC and play basketball here. When I told other people I wanted to be on the basketball team, most of them laughed, or said I couldn’t do it. So I learned to keep that dream close, not tell a lot of others who may try to talk me out of it, and work extremely hard to get better and stronger every year.

You made the basketball team as a walk-on under Bob Huggins. What was that like?

Before I could try out or do anything like that, I first had to talk to Coach Huggins, and I was pretty nervous because he was one of the most well-known people in the city. I went to his office and said, “What do I need to do to play here?”

Coach Huggins said that I first needed to clear myself academically and physically, and then we would talk about my role and taking the next step. I think he thought it would take me a few weeks to get all the administrative stuff done, so I left his office around 2 pm. I came back at 5 pm with everything I needed in hand, and he was pretty surprised, because I’m sure a lot of people tried to talk to him about being a part of the team. That aggressiveness and work ethic was tremendously important, and it probably helped me make a good impression with him right off the bat.

After I had been cleared to play, I started working on improving my game. I attended open gyms with guys like Ruben Patterson, Terry Nelson, and Kenyon Martin, and I couldn’t even get in the games at first because they were so good. The team already had 10 guys and I was the 11th, and I was resigned to accept that I may only be a sub or bench player, if that.

So one day, someone sprained their ankle or got hurt, and I thought this might be my chance – but those guys were looking for anyone but me to come into the game! “Is anyone else around?” they asked and joked. Finally, I got a chance. I was extremely nervous and didn’t play too well but I felt like I had arrived.

Then I went down to the weight room to work on my conditioning. I got on the scale and weighed around 152 pounds. The strength coach looked at me and said, “Son, you’ll never play at UC.” My head sort of dropped because I thought my dream was over, but he said, “Son, when you leave here, you’ll weigh 196.” And I thought, I’ve never been able to gain weight or build substantial muscle – but I followed his program and worked hard – and ended up leaving the program at 198 pounds. That was another reason I feel I made the team: I may not have the skills that some of the other guys did, but I would work as hard as possible to get better.

How did you find out you made the team?

Well, after a few weeks of practices and weight room visits, it was finally time to begin the season with Midnight Madness, but they still hadn’t told me if I had made the team. They just told me to show up and see what happens. So I didn’t tell anyone about it, because I didn’t know if I’d actually make it or not! Only my mom, my brother and my roommate Sam knew I had been working out with the team, and so we all kept it quiet in case things didn’t work out.

That night, I walked into the locker room, and they have two sets of names on the board based on who was going to work out in front of the fans. My name wasn’t on there, so I thought it wasn’t going to happen and I didn’t make it. I tried to stay positive as we went out on the floor to do some sort of introduction, but I was pretty upset I didn’t see my name listed.

Little did I know that when we went back in, my name indeed was on the board, and they gave me a jersey and all my other supplies to play, right on the spot!

I couldn’t believe it, and to this day, there has been nothing like running through those doors of the locker room out to the floor for Midnight Madness knowing I was part of the team. Words can’t even describe how I felt running out on the floor. And since I hadn’t told anyone about it, I kept getting calls in the days that followed from people asking why I didn’t tell them I was doing this! But it goes back to the dream I had at 9 years old and keeping it away from people who would try to talk me out of playing basketball for UC – and realizing that dream in real life was awesome.

Look for more from our interview with Alex tomorrow!