Sean May Press Conference Transcript

(On his knee-cartilage injury) Last Friday, Dr. Perry said it had been two and a half weeks already without the knee getting any better. So maybe someone would have to go into the knee and take a look. We didn’t know that there was still a little bit of cartilage left. It’s just the turn of the cards right now that this is happening to me. It has happened to me twice throughout my career. It is easy to get discouraged, but having already gone through this I feel that I am going to be fine that as long as I do what the doctors say. Also, with my work ethic to get back in the gym, I know I am going to have a long, outstanding career in the NBA.

(On the duration of recovery) The doctors say that the lateral meniscus takes longer than the medial. I have had work on both laterals done, and they said this time it should be six to eight weeks. Given the fact that I have had two knee scopes within the past six months, it may take a little longer. There is no real timetable right now, except to get me as healthy and strong as possible so I can go out on the court and do the things I know I am capable of doing.

(On how this injury has affected his rookie year) Having two knee surgeries in my first year in the league wasn’t something that I expected. There were some games where I felt like I was starting to come into my own. And then there was just times where I was so discouraged, that I felt like I couldn’t jump, move or cut how I felt I should be doing. That’s when I went to Joe [Sharpe], and said my knee is hampering the way I am playing, which isn’t good for me and my career, and which isn’t good for this team. When I felt like I was bringing my team down is when we went in and had it looked at. In his first year, every rookie wants to go out there and be in the Rookie of the Year race, averaging twenty points and playing a whole lot of minutes. But it just so happens right now that this is the turn of the cards for me, that I had these two operations in my first year. Really, it is a test to see how tough I’ll be if I’ll bounce back from this, which I have no question that it will happen.

(On bouncing back from this injury) This is what is crazy to me, is that through high school and college I have never had knee problems, besides occasional tendonitis here and there. But to come into my first year in the league, and having two knee operations is not something I expected. These scope operations are said to be minor, but whenever you have to go under the knife it becomes major to you. It is something you can believe that I will bounce back from, and hopefully if this is all that I will have to have throughout my career, I am fine with it.

(On his dad’s advice) He’s the one who told me that he tried to play through knee injuries, and that is why his career was so short. If something is bothering you, to get it looked at and to get it treated. He knows that I can play at this level and he has a lot of faith in me. The one thing that he has tried to preach to me every day is to try to take positives from this situation. While it is easy to get discouraged and it is easy to get down on yourself, that isn’t going to happen. He wants me to take this and use it as motivation to come back for summer league, be hungry and come back next year and have a great sophomore year.