Q&A with former UNC men's basketball player Sean May

Sean May provided the foundation of North Carolina’s championship team in 2005, averaging 17.5 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

After a career in the NBA and overseas, May joined the Tar Heels’ coaching staff in October, just in time for the team’s run to the Final Four this season. Assistant Sports Editor Logan Ulrich caught up with May about his experiences both as a coach and a player on Final Four teams.

The Daily Tar Heel: What’s been the difference in seeing this team from a coaching perspective instead of a player’s?

Sean May: You just see the different dynamics of a team and how a team is constructed. As a player, it’s very one-dimensional for you because you’re just in it. From this side of it, you can see why things happen, how they happen. You get to take a step back instead of being on that first layer on the front lines — you’re behind, and you’re seeing how things develop. That’s probably been the biggest learning curve for me is not saying, ‘Well when I was a player I would have done this,’ or, ‘If I was playing, I’d have done that,’ because it’s not the same.

DTH: What’s the biggest difference you can see between this team and the 2005 team?

SM: I mean they’re totally different from a style of play per se because at first this team was extremely perimeter oriented, and our bigs have come and developed to where we play primarily through Brice (Johnson). When I was here, we primarily played through me. Rashad (McCants) was our (second) leading scorer, but a lot of stuff ran through me, and then that actually took that evolution as we went through the tournament. The way they’re similar is that we’re both older teams, so we both are primarily juniors and seniors ... There are some differences, (but) there are a lot of similarities in terms of the makeup and the way these teams play.

DTH: What do you think the moment this team put it all together was?

SM: I think the game here versus Duke, knowing that we had it sealed and that just one more extra play or another sprint back, I think they realized how important every single possession is. Then when we go to Virginia, we battle against Virginia at Virginia, then I think they realized then again just how every possession matters because we didn’t play particularly well, but we were still there. And I think after that, they realized how good they can be because that was two very good teams that we ended up getting a loss from that we easily could have beaten and come out on the other side.

DTH: What sticks out for you about that 2005 run?

SM: Honestly, you know basketball aside, just the group of guys. Guys I still talk to to this day. We have a group chat, and we talk every other day. We’re extremely close. I never knew how close we would be playing, and 11 years later we still get together. Like we were just getting ready to go play pickup in the summer like it was 2004. The closeness of our relationships, I didn’t realize at the time how special that would be and then the bond that winning a national championship would carry on forever.

DTH: What was the mood in the locker room like at this period in 2005, and how does it compare to this team now?

SM: Well it’s very similar, and honestly I think it was the exact same. We still have work to do. In the moment after the Elite Eight game going to the Final Four is over, there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of jubilation because you’ve obtained a goal in getting to the Final Four. But very soon after that, maybe as close as the bus ride home, you realize that there’s still work to do and there’s still games to be played. I feel like this team has the same mindset.

DTH: How have you seen the scandal weigh on Roy Williams this year?

SM: It’s been tough. This team has been a safe haven for him being able to just go to practice every day. For somebody who I hold in such high regard to have his integrity and his leadership questioned, for me it’s very disappointing because it has nothing to do with this team and these players, and they’re having to answer questions that don’t have anything to do with them.

DTH: Have you seen Williams interact any differently with this group of players?

SM: I think he’s close. I don’t want to say he’s closer because he’s close to all his players. He has a bond with all his players. But I think this team, and he’s said it in the past, because of everything that’s gone on and because people want to talk about that story, they probably haven’t gotten the attention that they deserve or the appreciation that they deserve. When I talk about how good of a group this has been, being able to continue to work, continue to move past that, I think that’s why he has such an affinity for this group is because they’ve had to deal with stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with them.

DTH: What’s it been like working with Williams now as a coach, and how has that relationship changed compared to when you were playing here?

SM: It’s been great. I got to see a different perspective of him in meetings and the way he may talk about his players or the way he may appreciate his players behind closed doors but not tell them as much. Just seeing that different dynamic, it’s been funny. It’s been great seeing this perspective because obviously having played for him and seeing the way he interacts with us, it’s been different, and it’s been fun to see it on the other side. The one thing I’ve just loved about it is being able to see his basketball mind from a different perspective, every day just talking basketball situations. He remembers every single play from every single game and being able to hear those stories has been really neat.

DTH: That’s very Dean Smith-like.

SM: My dad (Scott May) played for Dean Smith in the Olympics, so I know a lot about Coach Smith. One thing people always say is how sharp his mind was. But some of the stuff that (Williams) has been able to just reel off the top of his head — watching me in a high school game in a backyard AAU tournament in Blacksburg, Ind., he’ll be able to recall every little detail. It’s really impressive, and I admire that.

@loganulrich

sports@dailytarheel.com