This Bronco changed his physical appearance. It could greatly help his game

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — If the 2024 version of Andrew Meadow looked at a picture of the current Andrew Meadow, he’d probably struggle to realize who he was even looking at.

With long, light brown hair flowing to his shoulders and thick, black-rimmed goggles perched on his nose, Meadow was one of the most distinct-looking players in college basketball.

CBS Sports described him as having “the look of a future March Madness legend,” while his Clark Kent-esque goggles were reminiscent of 1990s Los Angeles Laker Kurt Rambis.

That was until last January, when Meadow turned up to a game at ExtraMile Arena with his hair shaved down to a couple of inches. It had been five years since he’d last cut his hair; he said it felt like a “reset” for him, but the decision didn’t have to do with any superstitions or trying to improve his game.

The goggles remained, however, as they have since he was 7 years old. But in another shock to the fan base, Meadow ran out onto the court at ExtraMile Arena for Saturday’s 101-77 win over Utah Valley with a glasses-free face. This time, the change was made for tactical reasons.

“One day, my glasses got super dirty from sweat, so I took them off on the court, and I realized, ‘Oh, I have way more peripheral (vision),’ ”

Meadow, now a junior, told reporters on Monday. “Even though I couldn’t see because it was blurry, I could just see more of the court.”

Meadow and the coaching staff began to put two and two together when they noticed that teams would often target Meadow on defense. If Meadow was guarding the perimeter and an opposition player was in the corner, the opposing player would often make a backdoor cut toward the basket, and Meadow wouldn’t even realize he’d made the move until it was too late. He was even making the same mistake in practice, which raised red flags for head coach Leon Rice.

That’s when the Broncos realized that Meadows’ thick-rimmed glasses were essentially acting as “horse blinders,” in Rice’s words.

“He kind of had to make a choice. He could see the ball, but then he couldn’t play the man, and you’ve got to be able to do both, and you’ve got to have peripheral vision,” Rice said Monday. “And then offensively, you’ve got to be able to see your teammates and know spacing.”

Meadow also took an elbow to the face in a preseason scrimmage with Washington last month, resulting in his goggles causing a cut above one eye that required stitches.

As a result, Meadow finally made the switch to contacts last week. Typically, an eye technician will schedule an appointment to teach people new to contact lenses how to insert them, but Meadow wanted the contacts immediately for Saturday’s game.

He spent about 45 minutes getting them situated before the Utah Valley game, then proceeded to drop 18 points, three rebounds and two assists. It was a much better showing than in his first game of the season, when he posted just 10 points and one assist in the Broncos’ 79-78 loss to Division II Hawaii Pacific.

“I felt really confident,” Meadow said. “I was a little nervous at first, because I’ve never played basketball without glasses, but once I got out there and made my first shot, it’s just basketball at the end of the day.”

The old, underclassmen version of Meadow that gained national attention for his looks is now gone. But instead of simply blending in with the crowd, this new version of Meadow hopes that his basketball prowess is the thing that helps him shine.

“I think it was just a big eye-opening moment the other day, when I realized it’s affecting me on the court,” Meadow said. “Yeah, it’s my look, but I need my performance to be as best as possible.”