MEMPHIS — After he made the biggest and most unlikely shot of the NCAA tournament—after he propelled North Carolina into the Final Four with one, graceful flick of the wrist—Luke Maye screamed, flexed his muscles and then bear-hugged teammate Joel Berry, lifting him off FedEx Forum court.
“He was acting like a football player out there,” Berry chuckled following the Tar Heels’ 75-73 win over Kentucky, and it was fitting, because early in his life that’s what most folks assumed Luke Maye would be.
His father, Mark, played quarterback for the Tar Heels—he led the ACC in passing in 1986—and might have had an opportunity to compete in the NFL had injuries not halted his career.