Cincinnati Enquirer 7/6/2006
Mayo to remain a Trojan
Reports: He'll go to Southern Cal
BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->North College Hill star O.J. Mayo will play his college basketball at the University of Southern California, according to a report Wednesday on ESPN.com.
ESPN.com's Andy Katz, citing "multiple sources," wrote that Mayo told the USC coaches and players last week that he would commit to USC. Mayo, a 6-foot-4 combination point guard/shooting guard, is rated by most recruiting analysts as the No. 1 player in the high school senior class of 2007.
Mayo will hold a news conference at 4:30 p.m. today at the ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J., but camp publicity coordinator Jim Bukata said it is intended as a general question-and-answer session for Mayo, to avoid a constant media crush.
<SCRIPT language=JavaScript>OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');</SCRIPT>Bukata said Mayo, who wasn't made available to speak with reporters after Wednesday night's practice session, told him he wasn't planning to announce a college choice today but does hope to have an announcement before the camp ends Sunday.
NCH teammate Bill Walker, also at the ABCD Camp, will have a news conference today, as well.
A Los Angeles Times reporter, in an e-mail to The Enquirer, said, "A source close to the situation ... confirmed that Mayo has told the USC staff he was coming."
The Enquirer reported in April that Mayo and Walker both had Southern Cal atop their list of colleges. A source told The Enquirer then that Mayo and Walker - ranked Nos. 1-2 nationally in their class by Web site Rivals.com - both were "leaning hard" toward USC.
This week, Rivals.com reported Walker's allegiance is toward Kansas State, where former University of Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins is in charge.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported on a blog that Mayo visited USC last weekend. The newspaper asked four players who participated in a series of pickup games with Mayo where Mayo would go to college. The four players - whom the paper did not name - all said Mayo told them he was going to play college ball at USC. None of the four plays for the Trojans, the blog said, so they "didn't exactly gain anything" by saying Mayo would commit to USC.
Mayo, Ohio Mr. Basketball as both a sophomore and junior, has averaged between 27 and 30 points a game during each of his three seasons at NCH. This past season, Mayo led NCH to its second consecutive Division III state title.
Should Mayo commit to Southern Cal, the earliest he could sign would be during the November signing period.
Tim Floyd, Southern Cal coach, attended the NCH-Oak Hill Academy (Va.) game at U.S. Bank Arena in February. Mayo also played with NCH at an event in Los Angeles in December.
Mayo told The Enquirer in May that he probably would not make his college choice until after his NCH senior season.
NCH athletic director Joe Nickel said he has not talked to Mayo and was not aware of a commitment. "If it's true, I think Southern Cal would be good for him," Nickel said.
NCH coach Jamie Mahaffey could not be reached for comment. Dwaine Barnes, Mayo's AAU coach/guardian, also could not be reached.
