CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Big man Armando Bacot has ramped up his production lately with 10th-ranked North Carolina entering the home stretch of the regular season.
Across the last five games, Bacot is averaging 19.6 points, 12 rebounds and two assists per game, while shooting 64.4 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the free throw line. In the Tar Heels’ 96-81 defeat of Virginia Tech during the weekend, he finished with 25 points and tied a season high with 16 shots from the field, a mark he set back in the first game of the season against Radford.
Due to travel conflicts for UNC coach Hubert Davis on Monday night, assistant coach Sean May filled in on the head man’s weekly radio show. May is in his third season as an assistant at Carolina. Before being elevated to his current role, May served as the director of basketball operations for four seasons under former coach Roy Williams. May has been on staff for the entirety of Bacot’s college career and shares a special bond with the fifth-year senior.
“Well, I’ve seen him for many, many, many years,” May said on Monday night. “He’s been here forever. You know, the thing about Armando, I have a phenomenal relationship (with him). The way he played against Virginia Tech, especially in that second half, we’ve had to try to make him understand that, ‘listen, RJ (Davis) is having a great year, but it’s got to be both of you, and you’ve got to impose your will on the game.’ ”
In May’s three college seasons as a standout big man at UNC, he became the first Tar Heel in more than 30 years to average a career double-double. He was a a driving force for the 2005 NCAA championship team and earned Final Four Most Outstanding honors. In May’s final home game as a college player, he piled up 26 points and 24 rebounds in a win over Duke — still the most rebounds by any player in a game at the Smith Center.
Many of the tendencies May picked up during his playing career have helped him make the transition to the coaching ranks. May said that because he didn’t have exceptional athleticism as a player, he placed an emphasis on film study. He also pointed out his love for technology, its ability to enhance practice and player development, and how he has helped lead the charge on the UNC team’s technology upgrades through the years.
“When Coach Williams was here, we were still living in the dark ages,” May said jokingly. “So when I came on board I was like, ‘Coach, we gotta get these camera systems, we gotta get these new computers, all the technology in the office.’ We utilize it a lot. There’s a program called Synergy SportsCode, which every high-major program and every NBA program (uses). But like that’s where it all starts and then it’s how far you dive deep into that.
“I can pull up every scenario in practice, how many dribbles RJ took. You can get as far into the rabbit hole as you need to. It can be good, but it can be bad if you don’t know how to utilize it. But for us, our guys love it. We can send them their scouting reports and video right to their phone, which then we can know if they opened it or not. Which helps us, so it’s been good.”
At the start of every UNC practice session, May said he spends 10 to 15 minutes doing position drills with UNC’s frontcourt players. Fellow UNC assistant Pat Sullivan joins May during these brief sessions, but May said he’s the most “vocal” of the two coaches during these periods.
May had high praise for his position group on Monday night, commending the traits of Jalen Washington, James Okonkwo and Jae’Lyn Withers. But for May, one particular Carolina big man holds a special place for him.
“He’s had a storied career here,” May said of Bacot. “And we want to end it the right way. And I think it’s very important for him to end it the right way, and he’s put himself in a great position.”