One dominating performance: it didn't take long for Illinois to get the message about this championship game: Mayday

When all of the story lines of the 2004-05 season stop swirling and the year is condensed to a single sentiment, it will be this: Roy Williams finally got his title.

However, it should be remembered that it was Sean May who delivered the championship.

Without May, it would have been the season of the mini, another Roy near miss, a story of a stirring comeback and a stunning collapse. But no.

The Illini had the three guards to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit, but what they really needed were three armed guards to keep May from scoring. Remember all of the talk, all of the questions about how Illinois--a team that had been dinged once in 38 games--could be an underdog against North Carolina? It was easier to understand when you saw that no one could stop May. Not Roger Powell. Not James Augustine. Not Jack Ingram. Certainly not Nick Smith. Not any concoction of a double-team that occasionally swarmed toward May, who had his way on his 21st birthday in the biggest and best game of his life, giving his family two generations of national champions.

Earlier in the tournament, May personally ended Iowa State's season in the second round and Wisconsin's in the Elite Eight by totaling 53 points and 29 rebounds--making 21 of 28 field-goal attempts. At the Final Four, he made seven of his 10 second half shots against Michigan State in the semifinals, as the Tar Heels wiped out a halftime deficit and coasted to victory. Against the Illini. May was even better.

Illinois didn't double-team May often. Instead, it relied on sending waves of bodies at him and pressuring the perimeter, making it difficult for Carolina's guards to get him the ball. May attempted only 11 shots, so in that sense the strategy worked--except he made 10 of them.

"He wanted to win a national championship, there's no doubt," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "He's tough to defend. We tried everything."

At 6-9, 260 pounds, May is built like a tight end; Jeremy Shockey would love to have his hands. Throwing a basketball to May is like dropping a billiards ball into a beanbag chair. Once the ball touches his skin, it soon after touches nylon.

Illinois, the strength of its team on the outside, had no chance on the inside. May twice scored by sealing his defender, catching a lob from Raymond Felton and converting a layup. He barreled through the lane with power and then finished off the glass with finesse. He even scored by beating everyone down the court and turning a long entry pass from Felton into a slam.

Everyone would be talking about Williams' failure to win a title--again--if May hadn't answered big plays by Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head with 18 second half points. When Felton was asked after the game if it was by design that he went repeatedly to May in the second half. Felton said, "He was just killing. Why wouldn't I?"

Sean's dad, Scott May, helped lead unbeaten Indiana to the national title by scoring 26 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the 1976 championship game. Sean May brought a videotape of his dad's big game and showed it to his Carolina teammates at the Final Four, Now, there are more May clips for the ages. Sean's line against Illinois: 26 points, 10 rebounds, 1 Most Outstanding Player award.

"My dad and I talk before every game," Sean May says, "and this was probably the shortest conversation we've had. He said, 'You've been playing long enough; you know what to do.'"

The May family now has left indelible marks on the two basketball hotbeds, Indiana and Tobacco Road. Still, Sean's story felt more Hollywood.

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