May beefs up game
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Temptation for Sean May has nothing to do with the possibility of leaving school for the NBA after his junior season. Temptation is pizza and cookies.
North Carolina’s center is leaner and meaner this season. And very hungry.
His major role in leading the Tar Heels over Villanova on Friday night is a byproduct of his conditioning work last summer. He’s no longer the pudgy 265-pounder who tired late in games as a sophomore.
“He’s more explosive, he has more stamina and he gets in a (defensive) stance and stays there longer,” Tar Heels’ coach Roy Williams said of May. “I think it’s been a direct result of playing fewer minutes than he did last year and doing it more effectively.”
That’s where May’s off-season program is playing off. No pizza and no cookies (sneaking one once in a while doesn’t count) helped him lose 15 pounds and helped remake his body. May is a better player for it.
“I tried to eat as healthy as I could to stay fresh and not to put on the extra pounds,” he said. “After every game, we always have pizza, and I’m always eating a grilled chicken sandwich or something. It’s tough. My trainer calls me the cookie monster because he knows how much I love cookies. So I try to stay away for them.”
May knew he had to do something after Williams met with his players individually after last season. Besides telling May what he told the others — that their playing time would be reduced with the arrival of star recruit Marvin Williams, the Tar Heels’ coach ordered his 6-foot-9 big man to lose some weight.
Last season, May averaged 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per game. This season, he’s averaging 16.8 points and 10.8 rebounds in 26.2 minutes. His highlight reel is topped by a 26-point, 24-rebound performance in a two-point win over Duke on March 6.
“He was incredible,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said afterward.
May has earned many accolades this season. The best come from his coaches and teammates, who appreciate the sacrifices he made to lose weight and become a better player.
“He worked so hard and accomplished so much,” Roy Williams said.
May’s summer regiment included waking up at 7 a.m. to lift weights and run a series of sprints. Some were as long as 440 yards, or 4.4 football fields. After a nap, May would lift more weights and play pickup games with his teammates.
May is enjoying the Tar Heels’ NCAA run as much as anybody. This should silence critics back home in Bloomington, Ind., who have never forgiven him for not attending Indiana, where his father, Scott Sr., was a star on the Hoosiers’ undefeated national champs in 1976. His brother, Scott Jr., was a reserve on Indiana’s runner-up team in 2002.
“It’s worked out great for me,” he said. “To say it wasn’t meant to be, there are specific reasons why I’m not in an Indiana uniform. Coach (Mike) Davis knows those reasons and my father knows those reasons. I always loved Indiana basketball, but this is home for me. I bleed Carolina blue.”