Similarities between Sean May and Luke Maye

Here are a few similarities between former North Carolina Tar Heel forward Sean May and future Tar Heel Luke Maye.

They may spell their names differently but make no mistake—Sean and Luke are related on the court. UNC’s newest recruit is a 6’7”, 225 pound power forward who is built much like Sean May was—stocky but surprisingly strong on the block. Both are built like tree trunks. The comparisons don’t stop there, either. Luke Maye throws low post pump fakes, is a phenomenal outlet passer and just flat-out gets buckets, all calling cards of Sean May. Will Luke ever be a human highlight reel? No but he’ll be a bucket machine, much like Sean was.

Let’s take a look at a few similarities between Sean May and Luke Maye.

Quiet Assassin

Hailing from outside of Charlotte, NC this Cornelius power forward is deceptively effective. He’s the guy who you barely remember playing—but dropped a 22-and-14 performance against your squad when you remember more of a 12 point, 5 rebound kind of night.

Absolutely zero of Luke Maye’s highlight reels have him dunking. Let me repeat that. This four star power forward recruit did not dunk once in any highlight reel. It remains to be seen if he can. However—just because Bigfoot also remains to be seen doesn’t mean I’m going to go looking for him. For now, I’ll just trust it’s a fact that both Bigfoot exists and Luke Maye can dunk.

What he lacks in vertical, Luke Maye makes up for in stutter steps, angles of attack and body control.

Many fans don’t realize that purely athletic post players are the easiest to score on. They may jump through the gym but their biggest strength is also the greatest Achilles heel in their game—they want highlight reel moments. These defenders are on the hunt for blocks. Any pump fake, hesitation and stutter step will get them off the floor. That’s what Luke Maye thrives on.

Three-Point Shot

This is perhaps the single greatest asset to Maye’s game. The dude can flat-out shoot the basketball. High, arching shots with plenty of backspin is the tale of the tape available. He stretches the defense by knocking down open three pointers and mid-range jump shots. This puts the defense on their heels and will allow UNC to do some damage.

Creates His Own Offense

Perhaps most surprisingly, Luke Maye can flat-out get open. He has a nice step-back jumper, can catch-and-pop from the top of the key to the baseline and owns three pointers. He’s got a lot of weapons.

Most importantly, Maye does a great job of moving without the ball and not forcing things. If a defender is draped all over him, he’s not going to try to out-athlete the opposition. That’s not his game. Luke will pass out of the situation and bide his time. Then, when defender collapses on a driving teammate, Luke cuts to the basket with his hands up. He makes himself an easy target for a pass—then he finishes.

How He Helps UNC