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- Thread starter OSUBasketballJunkie
- Start date
methomps
an imbecility, a stupidity without name
Not really. I am leery of the mega-recruits like OJ Mayo and Jimmy Clausen that are names that casual fans and non-fans know before the player steps on campus.
Los Angeles is a different kind of place. It's very hard for an LA program to keep outside forces at bay. With Hollywood and the music industry, LA has ready-made agents and agent-wannabes. For most schools, overzealous boosters are the biggest concern. Not here.
So when you bring someone like Mayo here, it just attracts more scumbags. And they don't just go after the star player, they reach out to everyone.
Then you have something unique to bball: the shoes. People get to the players in high school, and you have to worry about the influence they carry.
This will be an interesting test of Tim Floyd. His toughest job may well be to protect Mayo and the program. The high school suspensions are an issue, but I can live with it as long as it is simply for fighting. While fighting isn't okay, it's a reality of high school that one can grow out of.
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illinoisbuckeye
Heisman
Hubbard, I see no reason to change it at this stage....
Rivals$
7/6/06
I don't doubt he won't be at USC, but according to this arcticle, he has not commited to USC and is not leaning to any one school at this moment.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
I am a little confused because this article doesn't even touch on who he is leaning towards. Pervious update stated USC was the leader and its only a matter of time until his decision is made public.
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DaytonBuck
I've always liked them
LinkMayo not committed
Says USC tops list; Florida, K-State in mix
BY TOM GROESCHEN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
North College Hill star O.J. Mayo has not committed to play basketball at Southern California, as some reports indicated this week. But Mayo said Thursday that USC is first on his list of potential colleges.
Mayo, who this week is playing at the Reebok ABCD summer camp in Teaneck, N.J., told a New Jersey reporter Thursday that he also is considering Florida and Kansas State. Mayo said he and NCH teammate Bill Walker - rated by Rivals.com as the Nos. 1-2 players, respectively, in the prep senior class of 2007 - were "not sure" about their college choices. The Web site has reported Walker's top choice is Kansas State.
"Me and Bill are still looking at Florida and K-State," Mayo told the Herald News (West Paterson, N.J.). "But USC is first on my list, and then K-State and Florida."
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ESPN.com, citing "multiple sources," reported Wednesday that Mayo told USC coaches and players last week that he would commit to Southern Cal.
Mayo, speaking after Thursday's morning session at the ABCD camp, told the Herald News that he might make an oral commitment to some college this week, then still take recruiting trips after that.
"I'd like to try to get it over with by this week," Mayo told the Herald News. "I'm still talking it over with my mother and my grandfather. I'm going to take a visit (to Florida) and K-State and make a final decision. A verbal is just a verbal. (USC) is what I like right now, but that could change."
Walker and Mayo conducted news conferences Thursday at ABCD, but the events were orchestrated to provide as little news as possible. Tournament official Chris Rivers told reporters the players would answer no questions about their recruitment or anything other than the camp.
The only revelatory statement might have come from Walker, when asked about speculation on whether he and Mayo would attend the same college.
"We both know we can hold on if we're by ourselves," Walker said. "But why divide us up when we can do this well together? It's a better story if we're both together."
Mayo managed to get his sense of humor across. After Rivers shot down one question about how Mayo was handling the media speculation over his school choice, a reporter tried to slip this question past: "O.J., during this game today, were you thinking about USC or Kansas State?"
At that point, Rivers ended the news conference. But Mayo got the last word: "I was thinking about Georgia State," he said.
In May, Mayo told The Enquirer he probably would not commit to a college until after his senior season.
A 6-foot-4 combination point guard/shooting guard, Mayo averaged 28.6 points a game this past season, repeated as Ohio Mr. Basketball and led NCH to its second straight Ohio Division III title. Walker, a 6-6 forward, averaged 21.7 points a game last season.
Dwaine Barnes, Mayo's AAU coach/guardian, has not returned calls seeking comment.
Eric Crawford of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal contributed.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
If you are still intending to take additional visits, why make a verbal and announce it?
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Mayo, as much as any player in recent memory, appears to be the very sort who would invite this kind of attention. His very interest in USC is said to be based on its locatin in a media market where he can begin to cultivate endorsement deals. Mayo has no ties to USC that might make him stop and think about the consequences of his actions on the program after he is gone and anything he does that violates NCAA rules would likely not become an issue until after his one year is over.
It was clear before the NCAA rule change that he intended to go straight to the NBA and it is not unreasonable to conjecture that he is consciously looking for ways to exploit the NCAA to his advantage.
And this is a case where I would have trouble trashing the kid if he does break the rules. It is not like he has gone begging for the attention he is getting and his motivation is certainly not a mystery. The huge amounts of money changing hands is the dark side of NCAA sports and I might even get a chuckle out of watching a kid like this turn that to his own advantage.
There is no 'student' in this student-athlete. He wants dollars and there are zero consequences to him for any action he might take while at USC. Zero incentive to follow the rules other than not getting caught before his year is over so he can continue to use the major networks to showcase his talent.
Further, agents know this and will do anything they can to win the Mayo lottery.
IMO this would be a very risky pickup for the Trojans and they would have no one to blame but themselves if he takes them down. Did they learn nothing from Reggie Bush? What does Mayo have to lose? What do the agents have to lose? Only USC can lose from this one.
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buckeyeboy
Still fortitudinous
I'd also be leery considering the fact that Mayo has had discipline problems in the past.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Scout.com$
7/7/06
Mayo's PC has been postponed until Saturday or Sunday. USC is expected to be the choice.
7/7/06
Mayo's PC has been postponed until Saturday or Sunday. USC is expected to be the choice.
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Scout.com$
7/8/06
Day 2 at the ABCD camp.....suprising comments about Mayo not exactly sticking out as a player, calling him "solid".
7/8/06
Day 2 at the ABCD camp.....suprising comments about Mayo not exactly sticking out as a player, calling him "solid".
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