O.J. Mayo to SC?

[billikenmetz]

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

If he goes to SC, he'll be another slashing O.J. to play for Troy. Let's hope it stays on the court, though.

[slu72]

can you imagine the ragging he's gonna get playing fo usc? Oh no! OJ2!I would imagine if they schedule Duke, the Cameron Crazies will be slinging little white bronco's, rubber knives, and leather gloves on the floor. Wonder how Huggy Bear's gonna explain this to his new bosses at KSU.

[Billiken Law]

Mayo is recruiting USC more than USC is recruiting him. He wants to be in a major media market so his hype is as big as LeBron's when he makes the jump to the NBA after 1 year. I wonder if he'd even be eligible - he's already been kicked out of his school in Cincy (allegedly beating up a co-ed) and I wouldn't be shocked if he's been taking gifts and other benefits like LeBron did (he wouldn't have been eligible if he had gone to college).

I doubt this will concern Huggy's new bosses too much - he's already got a awesome class this year and next year with or without Mayo. Plus, it's K-State, how high could expectations be?

[Pistol]

He wants the treatment that Bush and Leinart got at USC- easy academics, under-the-table perks, huge exposure in LA, and all the beautiful girls he can handle. Any winning at USC is all going to be credited to him. He's right- if he went to UNC or Duke and they didn't win it all, he'd be blamed, whereas winning a Pac-10 championship and making a splash in the NCAA tournament will be to his credit.

Mayo obviously isn't interested in being a student or a respectable citizen, he just wants a good time and a ton of exposure before he jumps to the NBA. He might not have the most honorable reasons for his choice, but who can blame the kid?

[billiken_roy]

i agree who can blame him? however it shows the stupidity of even making the likes of oj mayo or greg oden go to college. it is a complete farce and the ncaa and the nba are nasty to create this situation. this kid should be in the draft next year not biding his time in los angeles until the rules let him go pro. this is a wasted spot that is somewhere down the line depriving a kid from a needed scholarship that truly wants to be a real student athlete.

[FromGreeceWithLove]

Roy, I am not sure very many high level recruits are going to college to be student athletes, they see it is as a stepping stone to bigger and better. Guys who are the elite talents in the country have no plans of staying in college for 4 years or even 3. They choose the school that they feel will best prepare them for the next level and give them the most exposure. They go to college to further their basketball career, wheres a guy like bmetz went to SLU to get a degree and become a successful writer, and a guy like Pistol went to the Los Angeles Fashion Academy to give himself the best chance of becoming a successful designer.

[NashvilleBilliken]

I disagree. Maybe college is just what the doctor ordered for this kid. Admittedly, I don't know much about him outside of bball, but it sounds like he may have his off court issues. What's a better place to learn to be a man...the NBA or the NCAA? I say college. He moves out of the house and has to fend for himself...on little to no income. Sure we can say he gets gifts and whatnot, but it's the NCAA's job to enforce there rules. They should know that they need to keep an eye on this kid. Whether or not the NCAA enforces anything is another debate. If he can get legally accepted, you gotta give him a chance. If not, the NBDL is there for a reason.

And do you really think celebrities of the ilk of Paris Hilton is going to want to hang around some college bball player who beats up women? That's the thing about Matt and Reggie, they were stand up guys. Hopefully OJ could make the best of the situation.

[billiken_roy]

fromgreecewithlove said,

"I am not sure very many high level recruits are going to college to be student athletes, they see it is as a stepping stone to bigger and better. Guys who are the elite talents in the country have no plans of staying in college for 4 years or even 3. They choose the school that they feel will best prepare them for the next level and give them the most exposure. They go to college to further their basketball career"

i have consistently said that this is a shot in the foot of the ncaa. they want high academic achievement and clean recruiting and treatment of student athletes, yet they are trying to accomplish that with kids that couldnt care less about college. i dont want those kids in college. let them go pro. let the nba develop their own minor league. imo, the ncaa should not make it easier academically to get to college but harder.

if the ncaa threw 100% of their police work into insuring that kids actually academically qualify for college and are then going to class and passing classes, the level of student athlete would rise dramatically and i bet the problems that concern college athletics now (cheating by paying players, making illegal contacts etc) would fade away simply because you now have kids making college choices for better reasons than co-eds and under the table hijinks.

am i right, well how often do we hear about cheating and scandal from the non-revenue sports at campuses? not very often. and that is because these are the true student athletes. not athletes forced to be students as in college football and basketball.

[Pistol]

I don't think college is going to bring him back down to earth. A place like USC is just going to make this kid even more of a star. I don't know exactly what his situation is with beating up a woman, but memories are short and women in LA love anyone with status.

[billiken_roy]

do you really think oj mayo will be without while at usc?

he will be more pampered and protected in college than on any nba roster. now will he have more money in college than the nba, no. but he wont be the starving college student that most college student athletes are either.

[FromGreeceWithLove]

I was not saying this is a good thing, but it is what it is. I don't blame a kid for not caring about classes if his ultimate goal is to be in the NBA. If playing basketball is going to ultimately be a kids career, then he is in college to make himself a better basketball player. People go to college to further themselves and their career and for high level hoopers, that career is the NBA. If I was in the same situation I would spend as much time in the weight room and gym working on my body and my game; I would not be too concerned with trying to get an A on a psychology exam. If a kids career is going to be as a professional athlete I see no problem with a kid going to college and dedicating himself to being as good as he can be at that sport and letting academics be a lesser priority.

[FromGreeceWithLove]

Just ask Reggie Bush and his family.

[NashvilleBilliken]

My problem with high schoolers bolting to the NBA is that they do not have the necessary social skills/knowledge to suceed in there lives and little to no family support to help them. There are exceptions to this, of course...see LeBron. If the NBA doesn't pan out, then they are screwed. On the whole, I feel that a college experience is a better place to a person to "grow up" than being thown into professional sports.

And I'm not saying that OJ will go to USC and become a better person. Only that I think his chances are better than in the NBA. It's up to his school and the NCAA to hold him to the rules. If he can't become eligible then he can't play, he doesn't have a scholly, and he sits around getting fat until next year...a la Maurice Claurett.

[JMM28]

,

>and all the beautiful girls he can handle.

Or all the beautiful women he can beat up.

[stlsfinest]

These off court issues that several people have mentioned on this board (beating up fellow classmates, both male and female) have never been proven. I doubt if there is any truth to them. However, they are being talked about as if they are fact. These are all rumors. Mayo was never charged or arrested for anything.

Mayo has been the number 1 ranked player in his class ever since he was in the 7th grade. Along with the success, Mayo has had to face many challenges and problems. All the college coaches and scouts who know him have nothing but great things to say about him. They all speak about how he's such a respectful and humble young man. If Mayo was guilty of multiple acts of assult, he would not be so highly praised by his peers and elders. Attending North College Hill turned out to be a very bad decision for Mayo and teammates Bill Walker & Keenan Ellis. The high school used them to make money, and never treated them as students. They are currently looking for a prep school, such as Oak Hill or Montrose Christian, to attend for their senior year where they will be treated as students and not like celebrities. Those institutions would not allow such behavioral issues to go on without consequences. Personally, I don't expect them to have any problems.

[JMM28]

>These off court issues that several people have mentioned on

>this board (beating up fellow classmates, both male and

>female) have never been proven. I doubt if there is any

>truth to them. However, they are being talked about as if

>they are fact. These are all rumors. Mayo was never charged

>or arrested for anything.

Yeah getting expelled for a school is a daily occurence..

[VTIME]

>Yeah getting expelled for a school is a daily occurence..

Getting expelled from a school IS NOT a daily occurrence. However, posting on a message board without facts IS a daily occurrence. Can anyone prove that these kids have been expelled from North College Hill High School? That rumor started back in the Fall of 2005. They continued their enrollment and another rumor arose in the Spring of 2006. The only basketball player who received any major discipline from the school was their teammate Keenan Ellis for a separate incident. He was dismissed from the team for off-court behavioral issues. He is also a top 100 prospect. However, he is currently competing at the prestigious Nike Camp this week and still lists North College Hill as the high school that he'll be attending in the Fall.

When it comes to Mayo and Walker, a lot of people want to see them succeed. Also, there are many people who want to see them fail. Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, and many others all experienced this, but you'll noticed that some were in much more controlled environments (Prep schools/Christian Academies).