North Carolina Tar Heel hero Luke Maye’s story is about to be exhaustively covered for the next week by pretty much any media outlet with a pulse. Maye, who had the game of his life Sunday afternoon in UNC’s Elite 8 game against Kentucky, hit the game winning shot with .2 seconds left to give the Tar Heels a 75-73 victory and a trip to next weekend’s Final Four in Phoenix.
Maye was a rather unlikely hero, as he came to North Carolina in 2015 as a walk-on who was only given a scholarship after his Freshman season. Here’s a little background via the Charlotte Observer…
“[Maye] had scholarship offers from some schools, including Notre Dame, Gonzaga and Davidson, North Carolina wasn’t one of them.
Luke’s father, Mark, played quarterback on the Tar Heels’ football team in the ’80s, and as a child Luke attended basketball camp at the university. North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams knew him from those camps, and eventually asked the Huntersville native to come play for his Tar Heels as a preferred walk-on.
Williams couldn’t offer a scholarship until Maye’s second season. Maye came anyway.”
Contrary to Roy Williams opinion, many UNC fans didn’t believe that Maye was worthy of the scholarship…
Then there was Sunday…
Malik Monk!
Luke Maye!
UNBELIEVABLE!#FinalFour #GoHeels pic.twitter.com/egIlS5nmP1
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 26, 2017
Scholarship earned.
About Fred Segal
Fred Segal, 35, grew up in the Miami, Florida area and currently lives in Coral Springs, Florida, with his wife and two children. He is currently an attorney practicing in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the law firm Broad and Cassel. Fred is a graduate of the University of Florida and is a rabid, borderline unhealthy, supporter of the Florida Gators.