USA/TUR – Fenerbahce Ulker’s May has one eye on the Tar Heels

ISTANBUL (Euroleague/NCAA) - Sean May was one of the lucky ones in college basketball.

He played for one of the traditional heavyweights in the game, the University of North Carolina, and captured a national title.

May and the Tar Heels beat a Deron Williams-led Illinois in a thrilling 2005 NCAA Final. Even better for May was that he was voted as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

With America now gripped by March Madness, the 26-year-old May, a power forward with Fenerbahce Ulker in Turkey, admits he still spends a lot of time thinking about Carolina hoops.

"All the time,” he said to FIBA.com.

“I'm probably one of the biggest fans of Carolina basketball as a former player.

“I watch every game and if not, I'm reading about it on Twitter or Tarheelblue.com.”

North Carolina won the regular season title in the ACC last weekend when beating Duke and their Team USA coach, Mike Krzyzewski, in Chapel Hill.

"They're playing great this year with everything that went down with (the transfer of) Larry Drew,” May said.

“Coach Williams has really rallied these guys.

"I love 'em, I'm proud of them and I think about them all the time."

Because of the title win, and his first-round draft projection, May gave up his last year of eligibility at Carolina to turn pro.

He was selected 13th overall by Charlotte and spent four seasons with the Bobcats before moving to Sacramento for the 2009-10 campaign.

May, who had overcome a serious knee injury while on the books of Charlotte, suffered a stress fracture to his left foot ahead of last year’s training camp with New Jersey and the Nets waived him because of the four-to-eight week period he would need to rehab the injury.

Fenerbahce, looking for frontline reinforcements following an injury to Slovenia big man Gasper Vidmar, invited May to try out for the team and the Turkish giants signed him at the beginning of December.

While the overseas experience isn’t what May was counting on, at least at this time of his career, he is glad to be playing for Fener’s highly-rated tactician, Neven Spahija.

“It’s different,” he said.

“It's tough for American players in their first year to come over here.

“It's a different style of basketball.

“In the NBA, you're used to playing with more isolation, playing off isolation.

"Here it's more of a system. It's more similar to college.

“But it's been a good experience, good players and good coaches.”

May doesn’t know what the future holds for him, if he will remain in Europe.

"It all depends,” he said.

“If the opportunity presents itself, then sure.

“I like it here, this style of basketball.

"We'll see what happens.

“If an opportunity opens up in the NBA, I might have to look at that.”

It could be blessing in disguise that May is now in Europe because if there is a work stoppage in the NBA as many are predicting, he will have a year of experience on the continent under his belt.

"It all depends on the lockout situation,” May said.

“But my agents will deal with that.

“But I do like this kind of basketball."

One positive aspect to May’s journey overseas is that he has been able to sample not only Turkey but other countries.

In the Euroleague regular season, May travelled to Italy to take on Montepaschi Siena, and in the Top 16 he visited Lithuania, Greece and Spain.

On his recent trip to Valencia, after Fenerbahce’s 82-68 defeat to Power Electronics, May sampled Spanish basketball and wasn’t surprised by the electric atmosphere of the game, nor the level of play by the opponents.

"No, everyone that I had talked to - (former Tar Heel) Shammond Williams played in Spain - and they said that the Spanish basketball league was one of the best in the world so from that standpoint, having heard about it, I wasn't shocked when I came,” he said.

"But it's an unbelievable atmosphere - a lot of great players at Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia - a lot of great teams.

“Hopefully one day, I'll have an opportunity to play here."

May, whose father Scott played on Bobby Knight’s undefeated Indiana team of 1976, grew up in Indiana.

He says Charlotte is home for him now, though he still spends his summers in Chapel Hill.

FIBA