Column: May’s work ethic leads to Albion job

Jody May was a hard-nosed grinder.

The Elida High School grad was far from the most talented player on the Ohio Northern 1993 Division III basketball national championship team.

But he was a key part of the mix.

The stocky guard gave you what he had every night. One game, that might mean a key 3-pointer. On another night, he would provide a big steal, a rebound or a key pass to the post.

And every night, you could count on him hustling for a loose ball and playing pesky, physical man-to-man defense.

May, a 1993 ONU grad, will bring this passion and energy to his new job. May was named the head basketball coach at Division III Albion (Albion, Mich.) on Monday.

"He was tough and you couldn't rattle him," ONU head basketball coach Jeff Coleman said.

Coleman, who was an assistant coach on the ONU '93 title team, said everyone appreciated May's style of play.

"He gave you the same delivery every night. There was one speed with Jody," Coleman said.

"And the thing with Jody I think is rare, is that Jody put his time in, then he's a senior and we got (freshman) D'Artis Jones and (transfer) Aaron Madry and Jody didn't play as many minutes. He stepped aside, supported those guys and didn't say one word. ... He gave us a lot of toughness and the guys loved him. He was probably eighth on the team in minutes that year, but was a great leader. He's a special guy."

May simply did whatever he could to help the Polar Bears win.

"With his leadership, the guys loved him," Coleman said. "When people think of that team they think of Madry, Jones and Mark (Gooden), but no way could we win without Jody May and Tony Vogel, (Jon Lepinski), guys who accepted their role. We had great chemistry, not just on the floor but off the floor and that chemistry was created with Jody. He set the whole tone in the locker room."

May's work ethic first surfaced while playing at Elida for Chris Adams.

"In high school, Jody May was the consummate competitor," Adams said. "He was a multi-sport athlete who, through hard work in the offseason, had a tremendous senior year. His positive demeanor and work ethic, both on and off the court, provided some of the building blocks for the future of the Elida basketball program during the early years of my career at Elida."

Upon graduating from ONU, May had assistant coaching stints at Bluffton (two years) and Hanover (two years). He came to Albion as an assistant coach in 1997 and was promoted to associate head coach in the 2002-03 season.

May takes over for Mike Turner, who stepped down on Monday and handed the program off to May. Turner compiled a record of 527-319 in 34 seasons at Albion.

May steps in for a legend, who led Albion to five Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1978, '79, '98 and 2005. Albion returns seven lettermen, three starters from last year's 19-6 (12-2 MIAA) team.

Coleman must know the feeling. He was a longtime assistant coach at ONU, who took over for Joe Campoli, who won the '93 National Championship.

May said he won't change a lot at Albion. He'll demand his team play the same hard-nosed defense he learned at ONU.

So would Coleman give him any advice?

"He has to coach what he knows and be himself," he said. "You have to be your own personality and Jody knows this. He's a great coach and he's great with people and is a born leader."

May was offered the job on Friday and minutes later he called his former ONU coaches.

"I was over at coach Campoli's for dinner Friday and the phone rang," Coleman said. "It was Jody and he said the provost offered him the job. Coach and I did a back flip. We went nuts."

On Tuesday, Coleman was still excited about the news.

"Down deep, he'll always be a Polar Bear," Coleman said.