At North Carolina, May made his mark as the starting center for the Tar Heels 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 by a score of 75–70 to win the title, with May scoring 26 points on 10–11 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds.[1] May and his father are one of four father-son duos to each win an NCAA basketball championship.[note 1][2] May graduated from the University of North Carolina in August 2009 with a B.A. in African-American studies.[3]
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, becoming one of a record four Tar Heels to be lottery picks in the 2005 NBA draft. 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.[4][5] The effects of the surgery affected him the following season (2008–09), as he experienced conditioning problems,[6][7][8][9][10] tiredness[11] and tendinitis.[12]
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.[5]
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.[13]
May with Paris-Levallois
Sacramento Kings (2009–2010)
On July 21, 2009, May signed a one-year contract for $884,881 with the Sacramento Kings contingent upon him passing his physical.[14]
On August 9, 2010, he signed a one-year contract with the New Jersey Nets.[15] However, he suffered a stress fracture to his left foot in preseason training and was released on September 7.[16][17]
International (2010–2014)
On November 22, 2010, May signed with Fenerbahçe Ülker of Turkey for the 2010–11 season.[18]
On October 1, 2011, he signed with KK Zagreb of Croatia.[19] In February 2012, he left Zagreb and moved to Italy to sign with Sutor Basket Montegranaro.[20] In April 2012, he got injured and missed the rest of the season.[21]
On July 18, 2012, May signed a two-year deal with Paris-Levallois Basket of France.[22] This reunited May with his former college teammate Jawad Williams.[23] In the 2013–14 season, he played only one game because of injury.
In fall of 2015, May was hired as the director of player development at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina.[26] He served in the position for two years, and thereafter transitioned to the role of Director of Basketball Operations in fall of 2017.[27][28]
In April 2021, head coach Roy Williams retired and was replaced by Hubert Davis. 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.[29]
^Alesia, Mark (April 2, 2010). "They can play, but do they graduate?". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2015. Sean May entered the NBA after three years in college, capped by an NCAA title in 2005. He graduated last summer.
^Jazz-Bobcats Preview, "Sean May was active Tuesday for the first time since the season opener after Brown criticized his conditioning following knee surgery"
^Turkoglu scores 20 as Howard struggles in Magic win, "Brown said that May--who missed the 2007-08 season after having surgery on his right knee, and was held out of five straight games this season for "conditioning issues"--wasn't at the level he needs to be yet. "He's not ready to play like he's capable of playing," Brown said"
^Bobcats without Wallace vs. Heat "Sean May is expected to play against the Heat despite being slowed by tendinitis in his surgically repaired right knee."
