UNC Basketball: Luke Maye earns honors for his junior season

Luke Maye took home an honor at the annual Rammy’s awards

University of North Carolina junior Luke Maye was not only one of the best stories on his team last season but in all of college basketball.

The Tar Heels power forward made a giant leap in terms of his skillset and really burst onto the season in 2017-18. It came months after Maye hit one of the biggest shots in UNC basketball history to beat Kentucky in the Elite 8.

While the season didn’t end how the Tar Heels had hoped it would, there was still some positives to take from it. One of those was Maye.

On Monday, Maye was honored with an award at the annual Rammy’s which honor the past year in UNC athletics. It’s the premiere event for the UNC Athletic Department and is in its sixth year.

This year, Maye won the award for Breakthrough Male Athlete of the Year.

Maye saw a big increase in production from his sophomore season to his junior season with the Tar Heels. He started in all 37 games for the Tar Heels after starting in just one in the previous two seasons combined.

Maye averaged 16.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this past season, all career highs for the forward.

Earlier in that day, Maye announced that he was going to test the NBA Draft waters and enter his name. He did not hire an agent meaning he can go through the pre-draft process and withdraw his name before the deadline and have a year of eligibility left at UNC.

It’s a smart move as it’s essentially a free evaluation.

The general thought is that Maye will be back for his senior year and a starter for the Tar Heels next season.

Women’s Track and Field star Alex Cooke took home the award for Female Breakout Athlete of the Year at the annual event. The redshirt junior was one of the top in the weight throw all year long.

Next: Joel Berry wins Male Athlete of the Year award

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