Sean Gregory May (born April 4, 1984) is an American former 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 (appr ...

player and current assistant basketball coach at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC S ...

. May was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and grew up in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

. He was a three-time all-state selection at Bloomington High School North, and was at one time a teammate of former NBA player

Jared Jeffries Jared Scott Carter Jeffries (born November 25, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Jeffries was drafted with the 11th overall pick of the 2002 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards. He also played for the New York Knicks, ...

. May was named to the 2002

McDonald's High School All-American team The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

. He played in the 2002 McDonald's game with

Raymond Felton Raymond Bernard Felton Jr. (born June 26, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Felton played college basketball for the University of North Carolina under head coach Roy Williams. At North Carolina, Felton led the Tar Hee ...

and

Rashad McCants Rashad Dion McCants (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player who has played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as overseas. He played for Trilogy in the BIG3 three-on-three league. High scho ...

, who would later team with May to win an

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

as part of the 2004–05 North Carolina Tar Heels.

College career

May is currently an assistant coach at UNC. He previously served as director of basketball operations at the school. When the heavily recruited May chose to attend the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

, it was a major surprise to most basketball recruiting observers; it had been thought that he would stay in his hometown and play for the Indiana University Hoosiers. He had strong family connections to IU; his father

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sask ...

was a forward on the school's undefeated 1975–76 NCAA championship team and won the Naismith Award the same year, and his brother Scott Jr. played for the Indiana basketball team that made the NCAA title game in 2002. At North Carolina, May made his mark as the starting center for the

Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...

basketball team from 2003 to 2005. As a junior, he was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2005 NCAA tournament after leading North Carolina to its fourth national championship. The Tar Heels defeated the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

by a score of 75–70 to win the title, with May scoring 26 points on 10–11 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. May and his father are one of four father-son duos to each win an NCAA basketball championship.The others are Marques and Kris Johnson, Henry and

Mike Bibby Michael Bibby (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played professionally for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He last served as the head coach for Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, ...

, and

Derek Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name ar ...

and

Nolan Smith Nolan Derek Smith (born July 25, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player who is currently an assistant men's basketball coach for the Louisville Cardinals. He played college basketball for Duke before being drafted 21st overa ...

. May graduated from the University of North Carolina in August 2009 with a B.A. in African-American studies.

Professional career

Charlotte Bobcats (2005–2009)

In April 2005, May declared that he would forgo his senior year at UNC to enter the NBA draft. He was selected 13th overall by the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

, becoming one of a record four Tar Heels to be lottery picks in the

2005 NBA draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fr ...

. He started his professional career strongly by being named MVP of the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league. An injury in December, however, cut his rookie season short. On October 5, 2007, May announced that he had decided to have micro fracture surgery on his right knee, consequently missing the entire 2007–08 NBA season.Brown holding oft-injured May out until he's in better shape
/ref> The effects of the surgery affected him the following season ( 2008–09), as he experienced conditioning problems, tiredness and tendinitis. On December 30, 2008, May was deemed physically unfit to play, making Bobcats coach Larry Brown place him on the inactive list for the foreseeable future. On June 23, 2009, ESPN News reported that the Charlotte Bobcats declined to make a qualifying offer for the fourth year of his rookie contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. Sean May Paris-Levallois warm-up

Sacramento Kings (2009–2010)

On July 21, 2009, May signed a one-year contract for $884,881 with the

Sacramento 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 Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

contingent upon him passing his physical. On August 9, 2010, he signed a one-year contract with the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. However, he suffered a stress fracture to his left foot in preseason training and was released on September 7.

International (2010–2014)

On November 22, 2010, May signed with Fenerbahçe Ülker of Turkey for the 2010–11 season. On October 1, 2011, he signed with

KK Zagreb Košarkaški klub Zagreb ( en, Zagreb Basketball Club), commonly referred to as KK Zagreb or simply Zagreb, was a professional basketball club based in Zagreb, Croatia. It competed in the ABA League and the Croatian League. In the 2011–12 season ...

of Croatia. In February 2012, he left Zagreb and moved to Italy to sign with Sutor Basket Montegranaro. In April 2012, he got injured and missed the rest of the season. On July 18, 2012, May signed a two-year deal with

Paris-Levallois Basket Metropolitans 92 is a French professional basketball club that is based in Levallois-Perret, in the Paris metropolitan area. The club currently plays in the LNB Pro A, the highest-tier level in French basketball. The club was established in 200 ...

of France. This reunited May with his former college teammate

Jawad Williams Jawad Hason Williams (born February 19, 1983) is a former American professional basketball player. At 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in), he plays as a small forward- power forward. He played high school basketball at St. Edward High School of Lakewood, Ohi ...

. In the 2013–14 season, he played only one game because of injury. On November 24, 2014, May signed with SPO Rouen Basket. On December 30, 2014, he left Rouen and signed with

Orléans Loiret Basket Orléans Loiret Basket, formerly known as Entente Orléanaise and Entente Orléanaise 45 Loiret, is a professional basketball club that is based in the city of Orléans, France. "45" is the number of Loiret. The club plays in the French Pro A Le ...

for the rest of the season.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, 23 , , 1 , , 17.3 , , .409 , , .000 , , .766 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .5 , , 8.2 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 35 , , 8 , , 23.9 , , .500 , , .667 , , .768 , , 6.7 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .7 , , 11.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 24 , , 12 , , 12.5 , , .398 , , 1.000 , , .700 , , 2.9 , , .4 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 37 , , 4 , , 8.9 , , .459 , , .000 , , .656 , , 1.9 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 3.3 , - , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 119 , , 25 , , 15.7 , , .458 , , .231 , , .746 , , 4.0 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .4 , , 6.9

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, style="text-align:left;", Fenerbahçe Ülker , 8 , , 0 , , 12.2 , , .406 , , .000 , , .727 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .5 , , .3 , , 4.3 , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, 9 , , 8 , , 29.2 , , .455 , , .333 , , .692 , , 6.4 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .3 , , 11.7 , , 11.3 , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 17 , , 8 , , 21.2 , , .442 , , .292 , , .703 , , 4.7 , , .8 , , .5 , , .3 , , 8.1 , , 7.9

College statistics

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2002–03 , style="text-align:left;",

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, 11 , , 10 , , 28.0 , , .472 , , .000 , , .575 , , 8.1 , , 1.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , 11.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2003–04 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 29 , , 28.9 , , .463 , , .000 , , .689 , , 9.8 , , 1.4 , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2004–05 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 36 , , 26.8 , , .567 , , .000 , , .758 , , 10.7 , , 1.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , 17.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 77 , , 75 , , 27.8 , , .513 , , .000 , , .717 , , 10.0 , , 1.5 , , 1.3 , , 1.2 , , 15.8

Back to North Carolina

In fall of 2015, May was hired as the director of player development at his alma mater, the

. He served in the position for two years, and thereafter transitioned to the role of Director of Basketball Operations in fall of 2017. In April 2021, head coach Roy Williams retired and was replaced by

Hubert Davis Hubert Ira Davis Jr. (born May 17, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's team. Before his coaching career, Davis played for North Carolina from 19 ...

. On April 15, May received a promotion from the Director of Basketball Operations position, moving into one of the three on-the-bench assistant spots for Davis' inaugural UNC staff.

Notes

References

External links

*
North Carolina Tar Heels bioEuroleague.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Sean 1984 births Living people African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Croatia American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Basketball players from Indiana Charlotte Bobcats draft picks Charlotte Bobcats players Fenerbahçe men's basketball players KK Zagreb players McDonald's High School All-Americans Metropolitans 92 players North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coaches North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Orléans Loiret Basket players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Kings players Sportspeople from Bloomington, Indiana Sutor Basket Montegranaro players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people