OJ Mayo commits to USC?
 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2510229

This is great for UCLA on a number of fronts

Never heard of the guy.

Why is that?

me neither - but his name makes me want to puke.

Another famous USC athlete named OJ... awesome.

1. UCLA has Arizona with an old, albeit good, coach and makes for a good out of state rivalry. Ever since Monty left, Cali has been struggling for a premier team and after last years run, UCLA looks to be ready. With a decent USC squad, it can only help.
2. OJ Mayo has baggage galore. I think he's suspended in one of his states from playing basketball due to something he did wrong. Wherever he goes, the NCAA will camp out. Nothing's better then watching the Rules committee combing through your opponents AD.
3. OJ Mayo committing basically forces out Gabe Pruitt and Nic Young. Mayo and Walker, while they'll be name signings, will hurt USC in the long run as they'll take these kids instead of signing 4 year players to come in and help USC continue to build something.
4. Freshmen rarely are game changers. Mayo has thought about going to Europe for one season so he can get money fast and not attend class. Not exactly a good lockerroom guy, dont you think?

OJ Mayo sounds like a really awful drink.

I generally agree..oden seemed like a good guy, mayo seems like trouble...i wouldnt want him down here in AZ, talented or not...him going to USC should only help us recruit

LOL!!!

mrbug's #3 is what little programs tell themselves when they can't get those one and done players. not that ucla is little or anything, but it's still a bad reason not to recruit a mayo, oden or durant.

yeah, he's got baggage, but the guy is as legit as lebron was. he can have someone write his book reports for 3 months and carry a team into the sweet 16 on his own. you recruit guys like that no matter what. usc will be 4 times better than they were going to be in 07, will get tons of pub from this, and recruit a better class for 08 and 09 because of it. shoot, you don't think other 07 recruits don't want to play with mayo? bill walker might still end up at ksu (i was hoping they'd all go there, that would be fun to watch), but now he's probably going to look at usc.

second, there is no rule that says you have to bring in all one year players or all four year players. texas has damion james and kevin durant coming in next year. they'll be the best players on the team and be gone in 07/08. but we also have several very good multiple year types coming in too. best of both worlds. we're also recruiting jerryd bayless (thoser pastners can go fuck themselves) and anthony randolph for 07, both one and done players. rick barnes has made a living off under appreciated 4 year scrappy types (pj tucker, most recently) and still jumped into the rent-a-player-pool as soon as he could. shit, he wouldn't of let aldridge back next year even if lamarcus wanted to stay. he and most other coaches see the value in these recruits, and the value in these recruits seeing your program as a stepping stone to the league.

finally, ask jim boheim if he regrets bringing in carmelo. mayo is a better prospect than he was.

i guess my point is, this is in no way good for ucla

also, it's not like ben howland wouldn't take mayo in a heartbeat.

OJ Mayo is definately NOT good eats.

I don't get the "as recognizable as LeBron James" part. I've never heard of this guy until this thread, and I regard myself as fairly knowledgeable about the sporting world.

I would be suprised if Mayo ever sets foot on the court for USC. This guy has absolutely NO interest in going to school. The article just touches on this fact. This is not the same type of situation as Greg Oden. At least he acknowledged that he might want to go to college. This is the kind of guy who would challenge the draft rule in court.

As far as people not hearing about him. More people would have heard of him if he had a chance to be drafted in the 2007 (or even the 2006) draft. I suspect he will have his high school games on ESPN this coming year. He has been rated as the #1 prospect in the 2007 class since the end of his freshman year.

It was huge news here in Cincy when he chose North College Hill to be the school he went to. I never saw the hype either, but he's been touted as the next LeBron since grade school around here.

never heard of him.

Joe Mayo?

Hell, at 18 - if I could make $10 million guaranteed, I'd blow of school as well. Mr Bug seems to think this makes him a "bad" guy in some way, which is absurd.

I'd cut off a finger to make $1 million guaranteed right now.

I've watched him a few times, its hard to compare him with Lebron because OJ's supporting cast is a lot better than Lebron's but OJ appears to be a better scorer and that's about it. Lebron was better in every other area, IMO. Mayo can shoot a lot better than Lebron.

Is my memory wrong or wasn't OJ on the cover of SI when he was in junior high? I think he has disappeared a little relative to that early attention, but if we didn't have LeBron already, I think a lot of media would be making OJ into "LeBron." It's just not as hot a story as it was a few years ago.

Ben Howland wouldnt touch Mayo with a ten foot piece of bread

It's nice to see the words "OJ" and "commits" in a headline without also seeing "double homicide".

OJ Mayo looks like he's ready for the NBA already, and I am not talking about his basketball skills.

if the knock on him is he wants to become a proffesional player instead of a servent in the NCAA then i dont see a problem. too bad im with the NBA in thier age restrictions :)

I thought he was going to Kansas State to hook up with drunky?

That doesn't. This does.

hxxp://www.cleveland.com/hsboysbasketball/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1146040724219270.xml&coll=2

"Is OJ Mayo gonna have to choke a bitch?"

Might as well be signed by the Trailblazers for the summer league this year. :)

heybrad strikes again.. :)

Frankly, it sounds made up...

EDIT: Shit, rkmsuf beat me to it.

I'd cut your finger off for $1 million too.

Why not head to Europe?

I am pretty sure that is what his representatives are looking at. Of course he will be looking for a one year deal with no buyout clause. Not sure if the good teams overseas would bring him in under those conditions.

he's been a known quantity since he was 14. luckily for him he didn't peak to early and looks like a superstar in the making.. i don't know how tall he is, but he's built really well, super quick, and has great ball skills. i think he's 6'4 or 6'5 but i don't know for sure


i really don't believe that. do you have any proof? i certainly don't follow ucla basketball, but i'm finding it hard to believe ben howland wouldn't a lebron type talent, even if he is a worthless punk.

that is exactly what struck me about the story, I have heard of him, but only in passing - nothing compared to the LeBron blitz of a few years back.

One, Ben Howland has alluded to it before, talking about the character kids he likes, two I dont think the UCLA clearinghouse would get him by, and three his schools that he was considering was KSU, Cincy, and USC. Not exactly on the same page. If Mayo had no baggage around him, there probably would have been interest.

I think it's interesting that Mayo picked USC even though Floyd doesn't appear to have gone after him very hard. I'm sure Floyd is happy to take him since he should help USC tremendously in recruiting, although from what I know of Tim and what little I know of Mayo, I doubt he will get along with this kid.

That's if, as mentioned, he actually shows up on campus in the first place.

One of Scout's Headlines states:

OJ Mayo: News Conference on Hold.

Wonder if circumstances have changed..

I guess he is just waiting for his Mom to get into town. He is still expected to verbal to USC.

There are a couple of misconceptions here. He was suspended for school like 5 days, not 180 as was initially reported in that newspaper. He is also able to play high school basketball. He played varsity basketball as a 7th and 8th grader in Kentucky but 7th and 8th graders are allowed to play varsity so that isn't an issue. There is a possibility that his teammate and fellow blue chipper Bill Walker may have played as a Freshman twice so he may only have 1 semester of eligibility in Ohio remaining. It is still a pending issue with the Athletic Association in Ohio.

There are a lot of stories about Mayo that probably aren't true but if I were a college coach I would never recruit the kid. All it takes is one member of the multiple hangers on to take illegal benefits and you're in trouble like the Reggie Bush situation at USC. He lives with his 'grandpa' in Cincinnati who is really just a guardian. I believe his parents like in WV still but I'm not certain about that.

Why does this guy sound more like Maurice Clarett than Lebron James...

Lot's of bitches in Europe that need choking.

Wait, hold the Mayo!

mack brown likes character kids too, but up until the spring he carried one of the worst human beings on the planet on the planet along in ramonce taylor, and taylor isn't near as good as mayo is. these 'character kid' coaches have a way of overlooking that when a big dog looks into them.

second, the clearinghouse is an ncaa body. if they don't clear him, no one can. if you mean ucla admissions, then ok. i have no knowledge of his grade situation. as for the schools recruiting him, the final three are just who he chose. i don't think he has a texas offer, but i know he would have if his interest in us had been more serious. no point in howland wasting resources on him if he doesn't want to come.

i don't mean to be arguementitive on whether howland wants mayo or not. maybe he really doesn't. my main objection was to your homerist view that this is only good for ucla. unless mayo goes the other trojan oj while on campus, this will be only positive for usc basketball. nobody outside the west coast watches pac-10 basketball unless its a national espn game. but most are fox sports end-of-a-triple-header-at-10/11pm-local-time games. mayo and usc will be a national story all year long. usc will gain instant legitimacy, and time floyd, who is already a great coach and recruiter, will get into homes he couldn't have without mayo.

what micheal vick did for virginita tech, tj ford for texas basketball, shaw did for kobe, etc, mayo will do for usc.

ps - once you are done asking boheim about carmelo, ask any sooner fan or miami hurricane fan (if you can find one) if they cared about the hoodlums that ran around those programs in the past. sooner fans talk about their ill-gotten gains with nothing but fond memories. cheating? rape? coke? guns? don't care. they won. bottom line, in the long run, wins are more important that graduates. sad but true.

I thought this kid was a football or baseball prospect until I found out hes playing at my old high school today.

Heh... the old "any recruit that USC gets wanted to go to UCLA, but didn't have the grades" argument. Honest question... do you have any proof of this happening? Seems like a very common theme on the UCLA scout.com message boards, especially now USC is getting a lot of the best football recruits from all over the nation.

DOLA - I don't want Mayo anywhere near the USC basketball program. I don't think the short spike in notoriety and national coverage is worth all the potential for bad things to happen. The team isn't going to be a contender to beat UCLA or Arizona in the next couple of years, with or without Mayo. Floyd has done an excellent job bringing the program back so far, would hate to see Mayo ruin it.

it's almost always worth it, historically.

With a name like OJ, I figured we were talking about a football player.

O.J. Mayo gets injunction, allowed to play
 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) - Suspended prep star O.J. Mayo won a temporary restraining order Tuesday that would allow him to play later in the day for Huntington High against another nationally ranked opponent.

Cabell County Circuit Judge Dan O'Hanlon granted separate requests by Mayo and five other Huntington players who were suspended for two games stemming from a game against Capital last Friday.

The rulings would allow Mayo and his teammates to play in a game Tuesday night in Durham, N.C., against Artesia of Lakewood, Calif. O'Hanlon set hearings for the players for Feb. 9 and barred state athletic officials from imposing the suspensions until a decision is made on the players' procedural rights to appeal the penalties.

Mayo received two technical fouls and was ejected, then he followed referee Mike Lazo to the scorer's table and apparently bumped the referee from behind.

Under state rules, the penalty for receiving two technical fouls in a game or being ejected from a game is a two-game suspension. A student who "in protest lays hands or attempts to lay hands upon an official" can be declared ineligible for up to a year.

Mayo's five teammates were suspended for leaving the bench area.

"We feel O.J. certainly didn't do anything intentional," his attorney, Mike Woelfel, who also is an assistant coach at Huntington, told The Herald-Dispatch on Monday. "If there was contact, it was inadvertent or may have been accidentally initiated by the referee himself."

Huntington (15-0) and Artesia (21-1) are ranked among the top high school teams in the country by several national publications. Huntington also is scheduled to play Friday against Scott County (Ky.) in Lexington, Ky.

Under SSAC rules, if a student plays under a restraining order that is later reversed, the team could be forced to forfeit any victories in which the student played. Mike Hayden, executive director of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission, didn't immediately return a telephone message Tuesday.

Mayo, considered one of the nation's top seniors, signed a letter-of-intent in November to play next season at Southern California.

Just wow!

OJ Mayo is a serious punk. However, the ref seemed like he sold it a bit as well.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_...flop-gate.html

gimme a break, that was the worst dive ever. The ref is looking for publicity. I am willing to give Mayo a pass. What is he, 17, 18? I'm not saying he shouldn't know right from wrong but what he probably has to deal with on the court is frustrating. Being as high profile as he is everyone he plays against wants a story and he probably gets fouled, hacked, tripped etc... alot more then any other player.

He doesn't deserve a full season suspension, but if he got two technicals he should get a two game suspension.

And I could even buy an extra game for bumping the ref. Let's face it, he DID bump the ref. The ref acted like Greg Luganis, but if the rules state you can't bump or make any contact, he did clearly make contact. So, I can see adding like ONE game for that.

As a side note - is restraining order really the right term in this article?

You guys are kidding right? The injunction was from receiving the two T's.


What is not clear about that? He got the T's for taunting and for running his mouth. Because of those T's, he was suspended for two games and now a court is delaying his punishment so he can play. You don't see anything wrong with that picture?

But did he make contact with his hands? If the quote of the rule in the article is complete, and he actually bumped him with his body instead of his hands, I can honestly see somebody lawyering up & trying to avoid punishment because they didn't use their hands.


It could be, as the school/organization is being restrained from administering punishment.

Good point, I can see lawyering your way around that language if it's not clearly defend what "lay hands" means elsewhere in the rules.

That being said, he still should serve the 2 game suspension and potentially a small penalty (like i said, 1 or 2 more games) if they can prove that he violated the rule about contact with the refs.

The boosters at USC need a round of applause. The modern day "Program"

That ref should get a job in wrestling.

Yes. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) is often coupled with a preliminary injunction to prevent one party from doing something until further findings by the judge. This is a classic TRO case since if you wait for the judge to make a final ruling, the issue would be moot since Mayo would have already served his suspension. In addition to the so-called "irreparable harm" requirement, a person seeking a TRO must show a substantial likelihood of succeeding on the merits, which Mayo must have done as well.

One of my good friends was at the game in question. He states he didn't think Mayo bumped into him, that Lazo (the name of the ref) had backed up into Mayo.

The Huntington High coached stated in a letter to the WVSSAC that that same ref had told him that Mayo had better not say anything during the game, and ignored his attempt to call time out during the incident, which would more than likely prevented the second technical.

I think you can see a hand flying up that touches the ref. However, it looks like he was checking on the ref after he knocked him down. It seems unintentional, but he still sounds like a punk for getting the two techs.

For those interested, the video for the incident in question is here:

http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/5410146.html

OJ Mayo is gonna be so fun to follow.

I hear the Bengals may draft him.

I stand corrected. I thought he was #21. Was that his posse leaving with him?

So, he went from being a serious punk to sounding like a punk? Do you know the kid at all? I don't. He may be a punk, but to judge him from this one incident seems awfully harsh.

One incident? It was about four.

1) Getting the first T for taunting
2) Getting the second T for taunting (and if you watch it, it was well justified.)
3) Pushing another play
4) Chasing down a ref who was walking toward the scorers table.

so is every player who gets 2 technical fouls a "punk". I can only imagine how opposing teams treat this kid to try and get him off his game, I am sure some of them employ tactics that are less then sporting. It is understandable for a 17 year old kid to lose his cool.

You sound like a VT fan trying to explain Marcus Vick's stomp of Dumervil.

It's also understandable for a 17 year old kid to get suspended when he gets two technical fouls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyQxPf3JKWM

Umm, WTF? He barely touched that ref, and the ref leaps to the ground - first forward, then changing direction to the side. Nice acting job Mr Ref, who was your sensei, Vlade Divac? You can see it clearly in that slowed-down youtube video.

Still, I think he deserved the double-tech for just being an ass, and if I was the ref I would have booted him too, but that ref deserves to get suspended as well for that flop.

They showed a different angle than I had previously seen today on PTI and he definitely bumped the ref. Didn't look to be too hard, but it wasn't a little tap either.

He deserved the suspension and more. I have no idea why the courts are getting involved here.

Maybe if he just go the two technical fouls, I could see where you are coming from. But when you shove around another player and chase down a ref and bump him, that is a different story.

I agree he should be suspended. He broke the rues. But to label him a "punk" I think is premature. Who knows, he could be a horrible person but I think it is early to make that assumption.

I don't trust anybody with the name OJ.

hah!!

You never made any mistakes when you were 17? Were you judged as harshly? Seriously, I'm not defending what he did in the game, but I'm not ready to condemn his character based on one game of clearly bad judgment. I do agree with those that think he should serve his time for his mistake.

Hopefully you are right. In the future, he might not be a punk. But right now, at least by viewing his actions in this game, he is one. I can see him in three years slapping someone at a fight at MSG and then backpedaling to mid-court.

Looking at it on youtube, it looks to be that Mayo was walking away, but the Ref decided to walk over to him, and then in front of him, which caused Mayo to bump him. I don't see that as being his fault.

The courts stepping in and letting this kid play is just another step in giving kids the wrong message. The ref probably dived, but it's a sad day when a HS ref is trying to show up a star kid with a bad attitude. Any HS kid who taunts a ref should be tossed without bothering with the technicals.

Of course the bigger issue is the fact that the coach or the principle (who I think flies to every game) do not step in and suspend him for the game regardless. But heaven forbid the adults in this situation doing the right thing for this gold mine.

It's funny watching OJ Mayo being defended by the SC fans here. (Of course as a UCLA fan this is all making my day) It'll be a wonderful day when Bush gets USC on probation in football and Mayo gets SC on probation in basketball. Nothing like seeing the NCAA camp out at your rivals athletic department.

There is a reason why this kids finalist in basketball were Kansas State and USC. A kid this talented ignored by most major programs?

Dangarion: I don't see how you can possibly say Mayo was walking away from the ref. I'm not sure how intentional the contact was, but he clearly was walking towards the ref to plead his case.

I keep hoping this thread title is actually "OJ Simpson commits suicide".

Yea, the USC fans are going to defend him. If it was Derrick Rose (Memphis recruit) then I would probably be doing the same thing. If it a UCLA player then MrBug would be defended him. It is the nature of it.

I think that is an entirely incorrect assessment of what happened.

UCLA recruits wholesome players so I don't see how that is possible :) (For the record I was hoping UCLA was going to kick Medlock off the team)

Like I said I ONLY saw the youtube and from the angle it was at it appeared as if Mayo was walking away and that the Ref decided to cut him off. After finally getting to see the other angle it does appear that Mayo was approaching the ref and trying to plead his case. As for the ref falling... that seems like some improvisation on his part, he decided to take it upon himself to flop because the kid bumped him (regardless if the bump was on purpose). I don't think there can be a determination made if it was done on purpose from looking at either videos. And for those calling me out as a USC fan. When it comes to basketball I don't really give a shit, USC has sucked, I'm happy they appear to be improving, but I've never been one to be against rooting UCLA basketball. Bug knows this, we talked about it before. :)

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...adlines-sports

The final verdict

And this is how it ends. Up by like 40 points in the state championship, he does a massive dunk and draws the ejection. Triple double for the night, and honestly winning the "state title game" by 40 some points is damn impressive. Must have been nice to get to watch him play at this level, even if he is a bit of a knucklehead.

IF (and it is a big IF) he can control his temper and his attitude, I could see USC going to a final 4 next year and maybe even winning it. He is just the best of a class that is going to have 5 really talented kids coming in. I doubt the team will get past North Carolina this year though.

Still prefer Mike Beasley and Bill Walker to Mayo. They seem to have more level heads and don't appear to be destined for a 1 and done college career.

He dunks the ball, throws it as hard as he can up into the stands, and then struts around like a damn peacock. What a punk.

I think he's more of a "thug" if we're going to start using put-downs.

Who is this OJ Mayo guy? Is he a running back?

Sad that'll he's not even the best recruit coming to LA

Frankly, it sounds made up.

yea the more i hear and see this guy the more i get the feeling he will handle the money and fame in a bad way. it will take a diciplined GM to pass on him in the draft, but it will keep a franchise from taking a step back

Too bad OU has to go to USC next year for the Pac 10/Big XII Challenge. Oh well, better than having him in the conference with Huggins.

What a worthless coach. You can't possibly find a good reason to praise a kid after that stunt.

Hooray sportsmanship!