University of North Carolina Athletics
May Ready for Sophomore Campaign
August 28, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Aug. 28, 2003
Today, TarHeelBlue.com begins an exclusive series focusing on the returning 2003-04 Tar Heel basketball players. Today, we focus on sophomore forward Sean May. Check back each Thursday for the next nine weeks for updates on a different returning player.
By Adam Lucas, Tar Heel Monthly
First things first: the foot is fine.
That's the answer to the question Sean May has been asked every day - Every. Single. Day. - since Dec. 27, when he suffered a stress fracture against Iona (a game in which May wore four pairs of socks on the injured foot during the pregame shootaround in an effort to alleviate pain that had plagued him since the Vermont game) that kept him out of the lineup for all but one of Carolina's remaining games.
"The foot's great," May says. "I haven't had any problems since earlier in the summer."
The stress fracture did reoccur earlier this year, but after a six-week layoff over the summer the sophomore from Bloomington is back playing full-court pickup games with his teammates. And yes, he is running full court. After playing last season at 272 pounds, he has trimmed down to 263 and hopes to make it to 255 before the season.
Although the 2003-04 roster will list him as a sophomore, May is still a virtual Atlantic Coast Conference rookie. He has played in just two games against ACC teams, one a win at Florida State during which he was ineffective and one a blowout loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament when he was limited to just 10 minutes of play.
"For three months last year I didn't feel part of the team," May says. "At first everyone was like, 'We miss you,' but their life goes on and they have to keep playing ... When I broke my foot, they said six weeks and that didn't seem that long. Then at four weeks I'm thinking I'm going to be ready in two weeks and they're telling me eight weeks, then 10, and it ended up taking 12 weeks. It was hard."
May might have found it harder to sit on the bench than to compete on the floor against ACC competition. In 11 games, he averaged 11.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest while frequently being the lone true post option on the floor for the Tar Heels.
Byron Sanders and Damion Grant have more experience this season, but May is likely to once again be alone on the blocks during some stretches in 2004. He has already spoken with Roy Williams about his expected role for his sophomore campaign.
"He basically wants me to do what big guys in the past have done here," May says. "Coach Williams really likes the fact that I can knock down the 18-footer consistently and he likes that I have a big body and can maneuver it pretty well. I think he might be a little questionable on how I get up and down the floor but he'll see that for my size I can move pretty well."
For his size, May is also a deceptively good outside shooter. He hasn't gotten to show it much during his Tar Heel career because he rarely strayed more than a few feet from the paint, but he spent the summer working on his jumpshot and is reliable out to at least 18 feet.
That's a good asset for a Roy Williams-coached team that is likely to have plenty of fast break opportunities. Carolina big men from Brad Daugherty to Serge Zwikker have posted stellar scoring totals shooting foul line jumpers off the secondary break.
May, a student of the game who used to spend Saturdays watching college basketball games with his father, Scott, an Indiana star, is well aware of that tradition.
"That's going to be one of the strongest parts of my game," he says. "I can't wait for this season. I'm looking forward to it so much."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
