Eric May

Seriously? Eric May has not been a significant part of this team for probably 10+ games now, yet we still seem to find a need to post something negative about the kid? Wow. Get off it already and leave the kid alone. I'd love to know how many posters who constantly rip this kid have ever laced them up and ATTEMPTED to play at this level.
 
He did not cause us to lose the game, but our bench is virtually incapable of contributing anything on the offensive end. So few scoring options....
 
May made the right decision. He would have been blocked under the basket,so he took it out and ended up with a wide open shot. He missed the shot but it was still the right decision. He is clearly rusty and probably still hurting. He was trying to help,get off his butt.
 
Maybe the guys not the greatest Hawkeye bball player that ever lived, but the dudes hurt, got striped of his starting job, at least he wants to be a hawk. He could of gone the Fuller, Tucker, Kelly, Cougill, T.Smith and ......'s of the Iowa basketball world who bailed and are probably at fault for our last 3 years of sucking even more then todd lickliter is. But he didn't so cut the dude some freaking slack!
 
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Seems like a lot of misplaced anger when it comes to May. I have been guilty of it during games, but it isn't May that I am frustrated with.

Is May the best basketball player on the team? No.

However, I asked myself tonight... who else do we put in when we are giving one of the main guys a rest? Is there really a backup guard on the team that is that much better than May? I couldn't really think of one.

We have Marble, BC, JO, Gatens, and throw White out there on the wing as well.

I felt like Marble was struggling offensively and I don't think it helped that BC was playing the point. Marble seems to play better when he is running the point and it just seemed like he was having a hard time getting into a rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. He was also guarded pretty tightly most of the night.

I felt like White was struggling tonight, but maybe I am wrong. Just the way I saw it.

BC was completely ineffective on offense tonight. He was not a threat, but like I said, he wasn't the only one and I don't think it is his role to be a scorer.

JO played a good amount of minutes and struggled at first, but he is more of a streaky player/shooter at this point. He started hitting his shots later in the game.

Our post players were not going to have an easy time tonight and Leonard pretty much took them out of the game on the offensive side from what I could tell.

Gatens is our biggest offensive outside threat and he was really the only one that was consistently dangerous on offense tonight so Illinois had a pretty easy job on defense... all they had to do was make sure he never had room to breathe and they didn't have to worry about anyone else other than Marble. We can't expect Gatens to hit crazy shot after crazy shot and score 90% of our points.

They made it difficult to penetrate and forced us to make our jumpers... unfortunately... we struggled to hit our shots and find a rhythm on offense for most of the game.

So when those guys are struggling and/or need a breather and you need someone to come in at the guard position that has the ability to make an outside shot... Who else should Fran have put in other than May? I guess I couldn't really think of a better option.

MY POINT (TL;DR VERSION):
It isn't May's fault. I'm sure he wishes he was a better scorer/shooter, but he can't control that. He can only work hard and play to the best of his abilities when he is put into the game. I'm not a huge fan of May, but I don't think ANYONE could say that he doesn't work hard and try his best when he is out there.

People are frustrated because we don't have the depth and talent on the bench for nights like this. This is what happens when you have a have a basketball program that was a complete disaster for the past few years. Tonight we needed someone to come in that could contribute on offense and May isn't that guy. We can't expect him to be that guy either. He is a role player... and his role isn't to be a scorer I'm pretty sure or even to be an offensive type player for that matter. He brings athleticism/defense.

I have been guilty of ripping on him and getting frustrated with his play, but it really isn't his fault and it isn't Fran's fault for putting him in. We don't have a whole lot of options when it comes to bringing in guys off the bench that are going to score. Just try not to rip on May, because at least he looked like he was working hard and trying out there. He never plays 'lazy' basketball... which is more than I could say for some guys out there at times tonight.

This was a team loss and the team played like crap for a good portion of the game... especially on offense. We had guys going up for layups/dunks really soft and slow, missed layups, bad passes, bad communication. You definitely cannot single out May for this loss.

STILL TL;DR VERSION:
It isn't May's fault and he doesn't deserve to be bashed.
 
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BasketballMan said:
Seriously? Eric May has not been a significant part of this team for probably 10+ games now, yet we still seem to find a need to post something negative about the kid? Wow. Get off it already and leave the kid alone. I'd love to know how many posters who constantly rip this kid have ever laced them up and ATTEMPTED to play at this level.
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I will second this.... May has had a tough year plus. It may have been better for him to not have come out on fire the beginning of 2010-2011 season... Then again, having numerous nagging injuries have not help the man's game... Here is to him putting it all together for 2012-2013!
 
hawk2012 said:
Huh? No way we would reshirt him. Just because May is able to play doesn't mean he is able to play well. May is the Illinois basketball of players. Talent is there but he has completely lost confidence, even before the injury which has just made him much worse. The way May is playing now he makes us a worse team every time he gets on the court. He's incapable of scoring in a non-fast break situation but his injury is preventing him from running like he used to. I don't even want to see him on the court for more than a few minutes a game next year unless he improves. It's tough to do that to a senior, but Fran is here to win.
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This couldn't be further from the truth. May has absolutely ZERO basketball talent. Zero. He is an athlete, but a far cry from talented basketball player. He can't dribble, can't shoot, poor decision maker, and only and avg defender and rebounder. There is no talent there; it's called athleticism. Said athleticism will make you look talented when your competition is Iowa high school bball. However, you're exposed, as May was, when you start playing talented, athletic kids.
 
SheagleHawk said:
This couldn't be further from the truth. May has absolutely ZERO basketball talent. Zero. He is an athlete, but a far cry from talented basketball player. He can't dribble, can't shoot, poor decision maker, and only and avg defender and rebounder. There is no talent there; it's called athleticism. Said athleticism will make you look talented when your competition is Iowa high school bball. However, you're exposed, as May was, when you start playing talented, athletic kids.
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Although this may be a little harsh, I think it's close to the truth. May is almost done with his junior year, and really hasn't produced much. I'm not sure where people are thinking he is this uber-talented player that just hasn't found his confidence yet, or is underachieving, etc. There's a difference between being a good athlete and a good basketball player.

You can throw a lob to him from time to time due to his athleticism, but I can't think of much else that May really brings to the table. Yeah, he's had a few nice games in the non-conference against the IPFW's of the world, but year after year, he disappears in Big Ten play once the level of competition gets going. I agree with others that May will see very limited minutes next year.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
Although this may be a little harsh, I think it's close to the truth. May is almost done with his junior year, and really hasn't produced much. I'm not sure where people are thinking he is this uber-talented player that just hasn't found his confidence yet, or is underachieving, etc. There's a difference between being a good athlete and a good basketball player.

You can throw a lob to him from time to time due to his athleticism, but I can't think of much else that May really brings to the table. Yeah, he's had a few nice games in the non-conference against the IPFW's of the world, but year after year, he disappears in Big Ten play once the level of competition gets going. I agree with others that May will see very limited minutes next year.
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I didn't mean it to be so harsh. Just tired of waterheads who fail to understand the difference between talent and athleticism.
 
I don't understand the desire to throw a hometown kid who’s clearly struggling through an injury and played a whopping 3 min under the bus. By all accounts he’s gone out and worked hard and given the team everything he can. He is what he is.

Some of you people are incredibly stupid.
 
It would be tough to get goin when no ones in your corner. I've seen him play at a higher level. Hope he can get on track before the B1G tourney.
 
SheagleHawk said:
This couldn't be further from the truth. May has absolutely ZERO basketball talent. Zero. He is an athlete, but a far cry from talented basketball player. He can't dribble, can't shoot, poor decision maker, and only and avg defender and rebounder. There is no talent there; it's called athleticism. Said athleticism will make you look talented when your competition is Iowa high school bball. However, you're exposed, as May was, when you start playing talented, athletic kids.
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This post has ZERO accuracy. ZERO. If what you wrote was true,he would not have played at Wahlert,a state title team. You have gone overboard to try to make a point,I guess.
He can dribble. I have seen him do it.
He can shoot. His shooting percentage is respectable.
His decision-making is average.
His defense is good when healthy.
His rebounding is average for a 6'4'' inch player.

Nobody claims he is all-league or a star. He has been hurt for much of the last two seasons. Just like when Matt Gatens hurt his thumb last year,and was struggling with his shooting, injuries have huge impact on players at this high level of college ball. He is not a superstar who can get by at less than 90%.
Next year,if he is healthy,he will contribute on the floor...just watch.
And like those who condemned Gatens in the past with much of the same language, crow will be served.
 
SheagleHawk said:
This couldn't be further from the truth. May has absolutely ZERO basketball talent. Zero. He is an athlete, but a far cry from talented basketball player. He can't dribble, can't shoot, poor decision maker, and only and avg defender and rebounder. There is no talent there; it's called athleticism. Said athleticism will make you look talented when your competition is Iowa high school bball. However, you're exposed, as May was, when you start playing talented, athletic kids.
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Wow talk about not having any clue period. What an incredible stupid post.
 
Why was this thread even started?

Eric May played 3 minutes last night.

Eric May has only played an average of 4.5 minutes the last 4 games he has played in.

I think it's pretty obvious that this will be May's role next year as well. We all know what his deficiencie's are and it's not like they are going to to change just because he is a senior. Eric will be needed for some leadership, and spot playing time next year.

He has things to offer but is not a starting player.
 
Lots of bias both ways on this topic. If May were not from Iowa, I don't think so many would be as patient / optimistic about his senior season. No doubt injuries have hampered him this season, but Oglesby is a much better offensive player as a freshman than May will be as a senior. May, like McCabe, gives max effort when on the court, but lacks certain intangibles necessary to play at a medium+ level in the big ten. The bar has to be set higher than "serviceable".
 
hawkIhoops said:
Lots of bias both ways on this topic. If May were not from Iowa, I don't think so many would be as patient / optimistic about his senior season.
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I have trouble understanding why that should even matter.. I guess if we can win with nothing but Iowa recruits, then great - that would be a great local story. But it wouldn't bother me in the slightest if there wasn't a single Iowan on the roster, just as long as we had good players. I just don't get worked up over that, and sure don't think that a kid from such and such state is "better" than one who is from another.

That 1986-87 team that everyone loves so much - was there even a single Iowan in that starting 5? Most were from Illinois (Gamble & Horton )or Michigan (BJ & Marble) from what I recall.

Regarding May, I guess I try to look at it as it is, and my opinion is that I think he can be a contributor off the bench when healthy, but he just is not the type of player you want to be leaning on for 30-35 minutes a game. In other words, a role player, not an all-Big Ten type of player.
 
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