May thinking about going Pro

UNC's May considering jump to NBA draft

Felton, M. Williams also pondering moving

KEN TYSIAC

Raleigh Bureau


CHAPEL HILL - A week after declaring he would return to North Carolina for his senior basketball season, Final Four Most Outstanding Player Sean May said Tuesday that he was gathering information to consider entering this summer's NBA draft.

After the Tar Heels' season award ceremony at the Smith Center, May sounded uncertain about his future. Fellow junior Raymond Felton said he had made a decision but that he wasn't ready to announce it.

May and Felton met with North Carolina coach Roy Williams this week.

Freshman Marvin Williams said he "pretty much" had made up his mind whether he would return next season, and will discuss his options tonight in a meeting with Roy Williams.

After North Carolina returned April 5 from St. Louis, where the Tar Heels defeated Illinois 75-70 in the NCAA title game, May told an adoring crowd at the Smith Center he planned to return to school.

When Tuesday's awards ceremony concluded, May said the decisions of his teammates might affect his.

"If it's a situation where it's an opportunity (in the draft) that I can't turn down, then I might think about it," May said. "But right now we're just getting information."

Roy Williams already has confirmed that guard Rashad McCants will forgo his senior season and enter the NBA draft. Williams will hold a news conference with McCants at 2 p.m. today, presumably to confirm that decision.

North Carolina has never lost more than two underclassmen to the draft in one year. Roy Williams said he would take the next week to 10 days to research the opportunities his underclassmen might have.

He said he counsels players that if they want to go to the NBA, they should go. He also tells them that if they "should go" -- if they will be drafted high enough to justify leaving school -- they should enter the draft.

The morning after North Carolina won the NCAA title, Roy Williams said May should return to school. He has said May needs to work on his mid-range jump shot and perimeter defense to improve his chances of succeeding in the NBA.

But if Felton and Marvin Williams leave, May might face constant double- and triple-teams from opponents next season and his draft stock could drop.

If Felton, Marvin Williams and May leave, the Tar Heels will lose their top seven scorers from the NCAA championship team.

Felton, who won the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard, is projected as the No. 10 pick by NBAdraft.net. Named team co-most valuable player Tuesday along with May, Felton said he might have an announcement next week, but is keeping his decision confidential for now.

"It was difficult, but it was something that was best for me, something that I wanted," Felton said.

Marvin Williams, a 6-foot-10 power forward, projects as the most talented NBA player on the team, according to most experts. Though he didn't start for the Tar Heels, he exhibited skills May doesn't possess, guarding small forwards on the perimeter and making 19 of his 44 3-point attempts.

"Everybody has to do what's right for them and their family, and I feel like everybody knows that," Marvin Williams said. "So it's going to be a personal decision."

At the end of Tuesday evening's awards ceremony, seniors Melvin Scott and Jawad Williams broke into tears at times in emotional farewell speeches. Along with Jackie Manuel, they leave the team as champions after going 8-20 as freshmen in 2001-02.

"Thank you for believing in our team," Scott said, "and thank you for believing in me, and I will never forget this experience."

 

no way!!!! stop the presses

 

You would think that Dukey knows what Exodus means.

 

no I wouldnt