North Carolina Basketball: Luke Maye’s return makes Tar Heels a title threat in 2018-19
Rising senior Luke Maye decided to pull out of the NBA Draft ahead of the deadline to do so, giving the Tar Heels one more year of strong play.
Luke Maye emerged as one of the best players in college basketball last year.
His biggest highlight of the past few months may have come off the court, though.
The North Carolina Tar Heels big man decided to withdraw his name from the 2018 NBA Draft, just a week before the deadline to make that decision came around. Maye announced his decision the same way any other college student would – on Instagram.
Last season, Maye averaged a double-double for the Tar Heels. He scored 16.9 points per game and pulled down 10.1 rebounds per contest. He also showed off an uncanny shooting ability, nailing 43.1% of his three-point shots.
Maye became a hero during the team’s NCAA Tournament run during his sophomore season when he famously received an ovation from his college peers after knocking down a game-winning buzzer beater against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite Eight.
Back then, however, he seemed more like a role player fortunate to find himself on the right side of history.
He truly came into his own last year. Maybe earned All-ACC honors, ACC Most Improved Player, and even Academic All-American honors, to boot.
During his senior season, he’ll face expectations of leading the team back to the promised land.
Even with his great season, Maye didn’t need to be the team’s alpha male, thanks to the presence of Joel Berry II. He’ll now be the de facto leader, following the departure of Berry and Theo Pinson.
North Carolina will skew young next year. Cameron Johnson will be back for a second season in Chapel Hill, but the next best players will likely be freshmen Coby White and Nassir Little. The recruiting class is strong, but it isn’t Duke’s vaunted class.
Having Luke Maye back to lead the way, however, should rocket North Carolina back into the national championship conversation.