Donald John May (born January 3, 1946) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played college basketball at

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

and was twice chosen as consensus second-team All-American (

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

–

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

). His professional career lasted from 1968 to 1975, and he played for the

NBA champion The National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals is the championship series for the NBA held at the conclusion of its postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Con ...

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

Early life

Don May was born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, one of seven children of Edward S. May and Stella (Streit) May, and attended Belmont High School, where he played alongside another future college All-American and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player, Bill Hosket. The two once combined for 88 points in one game (50 by Hosket, 38 by May). Belmont captured the 1964 Ohio state championship with ease, winning the state semifinal and final by 24 and 29 points, respectively. Coached by John Ross, the Bison went 26-1 (with the loss in overtime after both May and Hosket fouled out) and May and Hosket were the first teammates ever to be named first-team All-Ohio.

College career

The 6'4" forward attended the hometown

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

. As a sophomore in 1965–66, he averaged 20.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game as the Flyers went 23-6 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. In his junior year of 1966–67, May increased his averages to 22.2 points and 16.7 rebounds per game as the Flyers went 25-6 and May was named consensus second-team All-American. The Flyers advanced to the NCAA tournament Final Four where, led by May's 34 points and 15 rebounds, they upset fourth-ranked

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

76–62. In the NCAA title game, the Flyers fell to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and future hall-of-famer

Lew Alcindor Lew or LEW may refer to: People * Lew (given name) * Lew (surname) Places * Lew, Oxfordshire, England * River Lew, in Devon, England Transport * LEW Hennigsdorf, a rail vehicle factory in Hennigsdorf, Germany * Lew (locomotive), a British narro ...

despite May's 21 points and 17 rebounds. As a senior, May averaged 23.4 points and 15.0 rebounds per game as the Flyers went 21-9. He was MVP of the 1967–1968

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT), in which Dayton defeated the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

and its star guard

Jo Jo White Joseph Henry White (November 16, 1946 – January 16, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. As an amateur, he played basketball at the University of Kansas, where he was named a second-team All-American twice. White was part o ...

in the title game. May was again a consensus second-team All-American. May's 1,980 career points and 1,301 rebounds are both second in Dayton history.

NBA career

May was selected in the third round of the 1968 NBA draft by the

as well as in the third round of the 1968

ABA Draft The American Basketball Association draft was held from 1967 to 1975. First overall picks Note: 1974 ABA College Draft, not 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players Further reading *{{cite book, last=Bradley, first=Robert D., title=The Basketball Draft Fac ...

by the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

. He signed with the Knicks. May played seven seasons (1968–1975) in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

as a member of the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

, and

Kansas City-Omaha Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. He averaged 8.8

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by nu ...

in his career and won an NBA championship with the Knicks in 1970.

Personal life

May was elected to the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974 and to the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2010, he attended the 40th anniversary celebration of the New York Knicks 1970 NBA championship season.

References

External links

Don May
at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Don 1946 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Dayton, Ohio Buffalo Braves expansion draft picks Buffalo Braves players Dayton Flyers men's basketball players Kansas City Kings players New York Knicks draft picks New York Knicks players Philadelphia 76ers players Small forwards