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O.J. Mayo (Official Thread)

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jimotis4heisman said:
but the thing is about walker/mayo started playing hs bball in 8th grade. rumor has potential lawsuit.
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I'm not a lawyer; however, I don't think that playing high school ball since the 8th grade has any relevancy. Also, he would probably lose the lawsuit just like Clarett did. Either way by the time the lawsuit would be finally settled (after all the appeals), it would be over a year and he would then be eligible for the NBA.

If he wants to play pro ball after high school he should just go play in Europe a year. He could undoubtedly earn several million with the European contract, a shoe contract, trading card & autographed products deals, other endorsements, and appearance fees, etc. He would make millions, not have to worry about going to classes, and and get to play more basketball games with (probably) better competition.
 
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the other side of the whole card is what lies ahead for oj. in reality the best thing for everyone is that someone really reach out and touch oj. kids with checkered pasts can mature into great young men. some may disagree, but even look at troy smith his st ed days, booster problems, off campus fights, in his early years him being infamous for closing down bars, or jamo and his days in mansfield. the truth is oj has a lot of potential on the hardwood, but he needs to step up his game in life if he ever wants his dreams. its so hard for kids to realize that and i honestly and truely hope where ever and what ever he ends up doing someone can drive that home to him.
 
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Dispatch

5/5/06

O . J . Mayo told Fox Sports Net that he will return to North College Hill for his final highschool basketball season along with close friends Bill Walker and Keenan Ellis. Although officials from North College Hill have been mum on the issue, Walker told The Cincinnati Enquirer that Mayo has been suspended 10 days instead of the 180 initially reported by WKRC-TV in Cincinnati for an altercation with a female student.

Mayo had visited USA Today national champion Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., the only team to beat North College Hill in 2006, but the school would not accept him, citing the fact that he was under suspension at his current school.
There had been whispers that Mayo might transfer to Manhattan (Kan.) High for his senior season, which would have been a sign that he really did plan to follow former University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins to Kansas State.
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HilmerJ said:
If the rule is One Year Removed from High School....AND 19 years of age....then couldnt OJ and Bill drop out, and be one year removed, and when the draft comes, they will be 19 as well.
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I don't think it would float. The rule is for the player to "be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class". "Not having attended high school for a (senior) year" doesn't meet the requirement.
 
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USAToday.com

5/10/06

Transition brings Mayo to forefront of grassroots world, but he's not alone

For the better part of two years, Greg Oden was the primary attraction in high school basketball. For all the exploits of Kevin Durant, Brandan Wright and Oden's other peers in the Class of 2006, the seven-footer from Indianapolis stood alone as the eminent force in high school basketball.

But Oden's time has passed. No more will he rule the shoe camps and AAU tournaments. For at least one year he'll attempt to bring glory to Ohio State, and after that he likely will embark upon a career in the NBA.

So, it's out with the (relatively) old and in with the new. The Class of 2007 shifts to the foreground, and, as unlikely as the prospect seemed just a few months ago, there's actually a competition for the No. 1 position.

From the beginning, the assumption was made that O.J. Mayo would dominate the rising senior class. And for a while he did. The 6-4 guard showed brilliant promise as a rising freshman at the 2003 ABCD Camp, and he played so well a year ago that many analysts mused that he may have surpassed even Oden as the best player — if not the best long-term prospect — in grassroots hoops.

However, after some off-the-court troubles and somewhat average play at early spring events, Mayo lost some national esteem. Invaders encroached on territory that had been his alone for the entirely of his high school career.

Then, at the inaugural King James Shooting Stars Classic in late April, Mayo rose to the occasion and delivered a series of primetime performances to reclaim his stranglehold of the top spot in the class.

There has been ample speculation that both Mayo and top-15 teammate Billy Walker would follow Bob Huggins to Kansas State. Meanwhile, there's growing buzz that Mayo may become the first player to balk at the NBA's age minimum, spending a year overseas or perhaps merely working out privately in the United States and training in preparation for the 2008 NBA draft.

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Cincy

5/10/06

Mayo breaks his silence

Prep star claims he's victim of misinformation

BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->O.J. Mayo has been in the news a lot lately, but Mayo himself has not said much publicly.

Since leading North College Hill to its second consecutive Ohio Division III championship in March, Mayo has:

• Been suspended from school for a fight, with one TV report erroneously saying the length of the suspension was 180 days

• Visited national basketball power Oak Hill Academy (Va.) on April 21 with thoughts of a possible transfer
• Been told by Oak Hill that it would not accept him, after Oak Hill learned of his latest suspension. Mayo also missed the state semifinals for, in his words, missing some classes
• Announced April 30 on national TV that he would return to NCH next season.

Tuesday, the 6-foot-4 junior guard was presented several of his various player of the year awards in a small, after-school gathering arranged by NCH. Mayo accepted his 2006 Ohio Mr. Basketball plaque and other awards, including some presented by Ohio High magazine and a local insurance company.

Mayo has refrained from doing interviews for much of the past month, but after Tuesday's presentations, he sat down to speak with The Enquirer. The setting was the lobby outside the Trojans' gymnasium, with NCH athletic director Joe Nickel monitoring the conversation:

Q: You've been through a lot lately. Have things calmed down for you?

They have. I just want to know where that information comes from, you know, "180 days," "He choked a girl." ...

I guess it's basically they see one news station do something, and then the others feel they have to have some story or they're losing for that night, I guess. I don't know.

Q: At the state tournament you told us you were out for missing some classes. What was this latest suspension for?

(Mayo wanted to answer but was advised by Nickel not to.)

Q: Can we at least establish how long the suspension was?

I would like to do that. ... It was for, like, three to five days ...

Q: When you went to visit Oak Hill, was that because of frustration with your situation at North College Hill?

No. I only live like two hours from there (Mayo is from Huntington, W.Va.), and me and Mike Beasley (Oak Hill's star player) and (NCH star) Bill (Walker) are talking about going to the same school (college). It went from there, and of course I'm on the campus. ... It goes just getting from talking, you know, as far as college decision, it's getting around to me supposed to be attending there next year. ... Like I said before, my question is - I get a lot of questions about me - my question is, where does this information come from? You know what I mean, like 180 days? That's harsh. And there for it to go over every news station in Cincinnati, it's most definitely not a good look.

Q: People at Oak Hill told us that you asked whether you could join their team. Did you ask them that?

I didn't even apply or anything. I didn't apply for any paperwork. Me and (Oak Hill) coach (Steve) Smith talked, and he asked what I thought about the campus or whatever, and I was like, "You know, it's nice" ... and after that I asked him, could I borrow a pair of shorts and a shirt to play (basketball in the gym).

Q: Were you looking into whether there was a spot on their team next season?

Mayo smiles before responding. Hopefully. He (Smith) has got a lot of good players. Hopefully he can find a spot for me. Other than that, I really asked him if I was to attend here, how would the other players look at it? Would I be a distraction to the team? He said, well, no, was I thinking about that? I said, well, no, I was just throwing it up in the air. I mean, you know, it's in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, in the back of the woods. I didn't think it would get all the way to Cincinnati. ... It goes from open gym to I'm going to be attending there next year. It's not fair. It's crazy.

Q: Was your situation becoming like it was at Rose Hill, that you were looking to maybe get out? (NOTE: Mayo transferred to NCH late in his eighth-grade year from Rose Hill Christian, which is in Ashland, Ky.)

We were never looking to move. Like I say, I'd like to know where these things come from. Do people just read other people and what they write on a Web site? Who knows. People who live four or five hours away and they put their opinion on a chat line, and all of a sudden it's supposed to be the truth. I don't think it's fair.

Q: Do you feel like you have to repair your image now?

No, that's just TV. I'm a kid. No kid that you've heard about is ever perfect; everyone is gonna make mistakes. There's a lot of good stuff that I'm recognized about, so if there's a disciplinary reason at school, I'm just another student, and if I get in trouble, I'm supposed to get disciplined. That's what happened. ... Only when I get disciplined, it's breaking news, before all the murderers come on and everything. (Smiles.) That's OK. It comes with the territory. I've got goals in life. ... I think it's time to hear my side.

Q: A lot of people still believe you and Walker will go with Bob Huggins to Kansas State, but lately the rumors are you're looking more at Southern Cal. What's the latest with your college recruiting?

Awhile back I put out a top-10 (list), because I didn't want to waste the time of other college scouts. If I know that I'm not gonna attend their school, that would give them the opportunity to go after another player. I gave out a top-10 list and I happened to say USC before I said K-State or whatever - I was just randomly saying colleges - and now all of a sudden that's my No. 1 choice. I think now I'll just look at my college decision after the summer of my senior year.

Q: How many schools are you down to now?

I've got a top 10, but I don't really want to say anything about it. Someone else might see that in the paper, and then in The New York Times it might be a whole different story.

Q: You're a big story; you know that. Everything you do gets magnified 100 times. How do you handle that?

I know. ... I understand it. Like I said, it comes with the territory.

E-mail [email protected]
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I heard the rumor yesterday and see that Kyle Lamb discusses it in his "Schott in the Arm" column today (can't speak on it though because I don't have premium, but based on the teaser, the topics are extremely interesting to me). Is Mayo just blowing smoke or is he seriously reconsidering us?

Either way, I'm hoping he's not reconsidering us. I don't want a troublemaker and the kid has trouble written all over him (not sure who's worse between him and Walker, actually). Besides, we already have a freakish amount of talent on the team coming in and there's no room for a prima donna on this basketball team.
 
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These two questions - and the answers he gives to them speak volumes to me.

Q: People at Oak Hill told us that you asked whether you could join their team. Did you ask them that?

I didn't even apply or anything. I didn't apply for any paperwork. Me and (Oak Hill) coach (Steve) Smith talked, and he asked what I thought about the campus or whatever, and I was like, "You know, it's nice" ... and after that I asked him, could I borrow a pair of shorts and a shirt to play (basketball in the gym).

Q: Were you looking into whether there was a spot on their team next season?

Mayo smiles before responding. Hopefully. He (Smith) has got a lot of good players. Hopefully he can find a spot for me. Other than that, I really asked him if I was to attend here, how would the other players look at it? Would I be a distraction to the team? He said, well, no, was I thinking about that? I said, well, no, I was just throwing it up in the air. I mean, you know, it's in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, in the back of the woods. I didn't think it would get all the way to Cincinnati. ... It goes from open gym to I'm going to be attending there next year. It's not fair. It's crazy.
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I am not going to say much more because what I would say is highly critical. Leave at this, you cannot honestly believe you mean the answer to question 1 in the quote, and then turn around and believe everything you say in answer to question 2. There is a word from psychology that describes this type of disconnection between thought, words and actions.
 
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