PG/SG O.J. Mayo (Official Thread)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Regardless of who he mentions, the scoop is that he will not attend college. Ohio State is not that active in recruiting Mayo and the concensus among the colleges is that he is not going the college route.

At most of the events on the AAU circuit, most coaches do not even watch O.J. at this point.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

5/13/05


Mayo has been chosen nationally by USA Basketball to participate in the Men's Youth Development Festival, to be held June 7-11 in San Diego as part of the International Sports Invitational.

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[wadc45]

Rivals $

5/13/05

From RivalsHoops.com...Mayo was the only member of the Greyhounds to play solidly and consistently at the Southern Invitational Tournament. Mayo had 21 in a win over the NC Bulls and 29 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in a loss to Sam Rines.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scouthoops.com$

5/22/05

Playing in the Louisville Legends Classic over the weekend, Mayo was very impressive. He had 20 and 15 points in his two games on Saturday. He listed UConn, Cincinnati, Louisville and Indiana.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com$

5/27/05

<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>O.J. Mayo says he's high on U of L

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O.J. Mayo

</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Evan Daniels
Date: May 26, 2005

Without an NBA age-restriction, O.J. Mayo will likely follow Lebron James' path to NBA stardom right after high school. However, if college is the Cards for the 6-foot-4 star, Louisville might be his destination. Mayo recently spoke with Inside The Ville about his affinity for U of L, and provided his thoughts on the possibility of an NBA age-limit.
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He mentions that most schools are reluctant to recruit him, they are waiting on the NBA age limit issue to be settled. O.J. mentioned Cincinnati, Connecticut, Indiana, and Louisville.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

5/28/05

At the Tournament of Champions on Friday night, D-1 Greyhounds recorded a victory over NY Ravens, 84-32...Mayo had 10 points in limited action.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[ArizonaRanch]

Do the DI Greyhounds play Oden and Co. this spring/summer?

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

They played a few weeks ago at a tournament in Indiana and Spiece dominated them.

[jackmatevans]

Both teams are at the Tournament of Champion and could end up playing against each other tomorrow.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

5/30/05

Mayo had four of his friends shot to death prior to their prom this week, but wanted to come down and play hard for them.

[babybuck]

I just returned to Cincinnati from out of town. I didn't see anything about this in sat or sun paper. A search on the newspaper's website didn't return anything either. (I did find his prom picture. What gives???

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com$

6/9/05

By Frank Burlison
Date: Jun 7, 2005

While the NBA Pre-Draft Camp takes place in Chicago this week, many eventual first-rounders will be over 2,000 miles away in San Diego -- playing in the International Sports Invitational/USA Youth Development Festival, including the likes of Greg Oden and O.J. Mayo...

The article says Mayo is the most complete point guard type of player regardless of class.

rivals.com$

6/9/05

At the International Sports Invitational in San Diego, California......Mayo's squad defeated New Zealand 118-57...Mayo had 25 points and 5 rebounds.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

LINK

6/11/05

Led by 29 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and eight steals from O.J. Mayo, the USA Blue Team (3-0) remained undefeated Friday night and earned a trip to the gold medal game against also unbeaten USA White (4-0) after posting a 96-74 victory over the USA Red Team (2-2). The Red squad will face Russia in Saturday's bronze medal clash at 4:00 p.m. in Cox Arena, while the White and Blue face off at 8:00 p.m.

It was USA Red who catapulted to 10-0 lead just 2:33 into the first quarter but it was only a matter of time before the USA Blue was back in the game. The Blue squad used the free throw shooting of Lance Thomas (St. Benedict's H.S./Scotch Plains, N.J.) to overcome their slow start and take a lead, 23-21 after one. Thomas went 6-for-8 from the line during an 11-2 run that cut the Blue lead to just one, 12-11 with 4:25 left on the first quarter.


The beginning of the second quarter was a reversal of fortunes for the teams, as the Blue squad opened the period on a 10-0 run of their own over the first two minutes of the period and by halftime had captured a comfortable 48-33 lead. In that second period, Dwayne Collins (Miami Senior H.S./Miami, Fla.) posted eight of his 13 points, extending the Blue cushion to 15 points.

"Once we got back in control, and once these young men were playing and running their stuff, we were very good," said Blue head coach Ron Crawford (Arkansas AAU Wings). "And when we are not, we're just like other teams, just about average, even with the talent. It is very hard to maintain a 27, 28 point lead in this kind of competition. It was a great effort by a great group of young men."

The Red offense stalled in the second quarter producing only 12 points on just 26.3 percent shooting (5-19 FGs), to a 75.0 percent shooting effort (9-12 FGs) by U.S. Blue. Overall, Blue outshot the Red squad 53.7 percent (36-67 FGs) to 36.0 percent (27-75 FGs) for the game.

Scoring woes continued for USA Red early in the second half, as the team fell behind by 25 points after a 16-6 run by Blue that lasted for the first 6:02 of the half. The deficit eventually grew to 28 points, 71-43, with 2:15 left in the third quarter and Red coasted into the fourth with a 74-49 lead.

Mayo, who had posted a double-double at halftime with 10 points and 10 rebounds, took over in the fourth quarter, shooting 5-for-5 and finishing with game-highs for points (29), rebounds (11), assists (6) and steals (8) and the Blue team coasted to a 96-74 victory.

"I was never worried (about the early 10-0 deficit)," said Mayo. "Once we got rolling and got into our groove, we just played ball."

In addition to Mayo's 29 points, four other players finished in double figures for USA Blue. Wayne Ellington (Episcopal Academy / Wynnewood, Pa.) finished with 18 points (8-13 FGs) and eight rebounds. Collins closed out the game with 10 points and eight boards, while Corey Stokes (St. Benedict's H.S./Bayonne, N.J.) and Thomas finished with 12 (4-5 FGs) and 10 (2-6 FGs) points, respectively.

Leading scorers for USA Red included Daequan Cook (Dunbar H.S./Dayton, Ohio) who posted 13 (6-for-20) and Gerald Henderson, Jr. (Episcopal Academy/Blue Bell, Penn.) and Brook Lopez (San Joaquin Memorial/Fresno, Calif.) who each finished with 11 points. Lopez's twin brother, Robin, posted six blocks in the game for the Blue team.

USA Blue Team member Thaddeus Young (Mitchell H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.) suffered a second degree (moderate) ankle sprain in his squad's 118-57 victory over New Zealand on June 8. Listed as day-to-day, Young was evaluated by the U.S. Olympic Committee medical staff, who will continue to treat Young while he is in San Diego.

LINK

6/11/05


Quote:
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Mayo and Walker: Smooth Operators at International Sports Invitational

O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, Class of 2007 recruits and current teammates, may be package deal



June 10, 2005

By Jason Owens
CSTV.com

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on">SAN DIEGO</st1:City> -- <ST1lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Ohio</st1:State></ST1lace> point guard O.J. Mayo is the most coveted recruit of the class of 2007. After his performance this week at the International Sports Invitational, it's easy to see why.

Mayo has arguably had the best performance of the tournament through his first two games. He's tallied 50 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while hitting on 6-of-8 behind the arc.

While he hasn't announced a list of favorite schools yet, the college team that wins him over will get an immediate boost. And if Mayo has any say in it, he won't be the only reason. North College Hill High teammate and friend Bill Walker may join him for the ride.

"We'll most likely be a package deal," Mayo said of <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Walker</ST1lace></st1:City>. "We talk about the same schools. We'll be together."

That's a scary prospect. While O.J. may be the man on his high school team, <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Walker</ST1lace></st1:City> wouldn't play second fiddle on many other squads. The 6-6 forward is the best athlete at the ISI and is ranked as high as the third best prospect in his class.

Both players are leaving their marks at the ISI, standing apart from many of the elite high school players gathered to play for USA Basketball at <ST1lace w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">San Diego</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType></ST1lace> this week. But no player quite draws the buzz that <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Walker</ST1lace></st1:City> does.

In a nod to NBA great Dominique Wilkins, Mayo dubs <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Walker</ST1lace></st1:City> the human-highlight reel. And the moniker is well-earned. <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Walker</ST1lace></st1:City> threw down eight dunks in his first ISI game and continues to fly above the rest of the field.

While the knock on <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Walker</ST1lace></st1:City> is that he's one-dimensional and doesn't have much game outside of attacking the basket, it hasn't shown this week. In three games, he's averaging 17 points, 4.7 boards and 2.3 assists on 69.7 percent shooting.

While Mayo will only say that he's looking at Big East, ACC, Big 12 and Big 10 schools, <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1lace w:st="on">Walker</ST1lace></st1:City> rattled off some schools of interest with a little prodding. He noted <st1:City w:st="on">Cincinnati</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">West Virginia</st1:State>, <st1:City w:st="on">Louisville</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State>, <ST1lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Wake Forest</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">North Carolina</st1:State></ST1lace> and UConn. But he made it clear that it was far from a final list.

If they do end up going to school together, their coach may be best suited to consult them before putting together an offensive scheme. The two have played with each other for several years and are very familiar each other on the court.

" We just have fun," said Mayo. "We've been playing with each other since the fourth or fifth grade. I'm used to seeing everything that you guys are seeing now."

Jason Owens is an editor for CSTV.com<O></O>

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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

LINK

6/12/05


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The USA White team captured gold at the 2005 International Sports Invitational, defeating USA Blue by a 107-85 final, despite a game-high 31 points by Blue's O.J. Mayo (North College Hill H.S. / North College Hill, Ohio).

USA White was able to pull away in the second half, outscoring Blue 31-19 in the fourth quarter as foul trouble kept Blue big men, Robin Lopez (San Joaquin Memorial H.S./Fresno, Calif.), Mike Washington (Heritage Christian Academy (Texas)/McGehee, Ark.) and Dwayne Collins (Miami Senior H.S./Miami, Fla.) on the bench for much of the second half.

The two teams battled back and forth in the first quarter and the game was tied at 23 with 23 seconds left, after Mayo scored 15 out of 16 straight points for the USA Blue team. Two free throws by Bryce Webster (St. Thomas Academy/St. Paul, Minn.) gave the White squad a slim 25-23 lead after one.

White pulled ahead by six points, 40-34 with 5:33 left in the half ,before Blue began a 7-2 run capped by a Mayo jumper at the 4:03 mark to cut the lead to one, 42-41. But, a cut above his right eye with just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter forced Mayo to head into the locker room early. USA White capitalized, outscoring Blue 15-5 over the remainder of the quarter to take a 58-46 lead at halftime.

Coming out of the locker room, the Blue squad inched closer, 76-66, after the third quarter. However, the fourth quarter belonged to USA White. With an 11-point cushion, 82-71 with 7:44 left in the game, White began a 15-3 run, that included five dunks by four different players and gave them a 97-74 lead, sealing the victory with 4:09 left in the game. From that point the teams exchanged buckets, and USA White walked away with a 107-85 victory.

"It was really exciting," said White head coach Pat Fitterer (Eisenhower H.S./Seattle, Wash.). I'm most excited because we had 29 assists tonight, that was awesome. This is the most unselfish crew I've ever had. Greg Oden thanked everybody for letting him be a part of the team and everybody else was just awesome, they had a great team concept. I told them now I want them to go out and win a couple more gold medals for USA."

Three players scored in double figures for USA White, including 28 points (11-22 FGs) from Paul Harris (Niagara Falls H.S./Niagara Falls, N.Y.). Center Greg Oden (Lawrence North H.S. . Indianapolis, Ind.) and forward Bill Walker (North College Hill H.S. / Cincinnati, Ohio), aided by the foul trouble of the Blue squad, chipped in 21 and 18, respectively, and Oden pulled down 11 rebounds. Five players also dished out at least five assists. Oden also broke the USA Youth Development Festival record for field-goal percentage, shooting 74.4 percent (32-43 FGs) in the tournament.
"This feels good," said Harris. "I told my dad, ‘If I win, I'm giving you the gold medal,' so I'm going to give it to my dad."

Mayo and Wayne Ellington (The Episcopal Academy/Wynnewood, Penn.) shouldered the load for USA Blue. In addition to 31 points (11-24 FGs), Mayo also tallied six rebounds and seven steals. Ellington finished the game with 27 points (11-23 FGs) and a game-high 12 rebounds.

"I know O.J. (Mayo) is a good player so I tried to play full court on him and set a lot of picks." added Harris. " I tried to contain him but he's very good."

Mayo finished as the high-scorer for the tournament, averaging 27.5 points per game.

USA Blue Team member Thaddeus Young (Mitchell H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.) suffered a second degree (moderate) ankle sprain in his squad's 118-57 victory over New Zealand on June 8. Listed as day-to-day, Young was evaluated and treated by the U.S. Olympic Committee medical staff..
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[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scouthoops.com (free)

6/14/05


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</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>By Frank Burlison National Basketball Analyst
Date: Jun 13, 2005

O.J. Mayo led a 3-point barrage for Team USA Blue Saturday night. Ultimately, though, Greg Oden, Paul Harris and Bill Walker were just too powerful inside the lane and Team USA White came away with gold medals during the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival/International Sports Invitational at San Diego State.
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SAN DIEGO – When can a basketball team cruise to a 22-point victory despite missing 16 of 20 shots from behind the 3-point arc and committing 19 turnovers?

<O></O>

When it’s got an overwhelming offensive attack inside the lane (or, as Hubie Brown is found of calling it, “the painted area”).

<O></O>

That’s what Team USA White had throughout the week at San Diego State during the seven-team, USA Basketball Youth Development Festival/International Sports Invitational.

<O></O>

Five opponents were victimized by it, the last of those being Team USA Blue Saturday night in the gold medal game. Despite having, arguably, the two best offensive backcourt players anywhere on the school level for next season, the Blue squad was overwhelmed, 107-85, by the White, just like China (112-59), Canada (105-69), Team USA Red (103-83) and Russia (105-86) were the previous four evenings.

<O></O>

Team USA White center Greg Oden came into the event hyped as the most overpowering post player on the high school level. He left San Diego with his gold medal and his No. 1 big man credentials ever the more etched in stone.

<O></O>

The Indianapolis resident, who was perfect from the field in the championship game while leading the Spiece Indy Heat to the Reebok/Big Time Tournament title in Las Vegas last July, was just as near-flawless in his Saturday night performance in Cox Arena.

<O></O>

He converted all nine of his field-goal attempts and all three of his free throws for 21 points to go with 11 rebounds. He was credited with just one assist and two blocked shots but those totals should have been more like three or four assists and four or five blocks.

<O></O>

Paul Harris and Bill Walker, who have the frames and physiques of NFL outside linebackers, scored 28 and 18 points, respectively, with Harris also doing a more then commendable 1-on-1 defensive job on Team USA Blue standout O.J. Mayo.<O></O>

<O></O>

How offensively skilled is the 6-4 Mayo? Harris’ defense on Mayo couldn’t have been any better yet the junior-to-be from Cincinnati scored 31 points despite missing the final five minutes of the second quarter while receiving five stitches over his right eye, courtesy an inadvertent elbow from Harris (who was dribbling against Mayo’s defense at the time).

<O></O>

Wayne Ellington (27 points and 12 rebounds) also had a marvelous game for Team USA Blue. Maybe something – more accurately, someone – will change my opinion in July but the four games he played in San Diego convinced me that he’s clearly the best two-guard in the national Class of 2006.

<O></O>

But while Mayo, Ellington and Tory Jackson (a very good point guard prospect from Saginaw, MI, Buena Vista) were combining to cast off 31 3-pointers (hitting 10), Team USA White was pounding the ball into the post to Oden.

<O></O>

And Harris and Walker were driving at will or overwhelming defenders inside the lane.

<O></O>

Game . . . set . . . match.<O></O>

<O></O>

ALL-TOURNAMENT<O></O>

(As selected by Frank Burlison)<O></O>

<O></O>

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER:<O></O>

Greg Oden (Team USA White/Indianapolis Lawrence North; 17.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game)

Frank Says: There are a lot of very, very good players in the national Class of 2006. But, literally and figuratively, Oden towers everyone. His offensive skills still need a lot of polishing but he’s made huge strides in that area over the past year.<O></O>

<O></O>

FIRST-TEAM ALL-TOURNEY<O></O>

(Oden included)<O></O>

O.J. Mayo (Team USA Blue/Cincinnati North College Hill; 27.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 6.0 steals per game)

Frank Says: He’s the most offensively skilled guard on the school scene today. And his defense isn’t bad, either. He scored 31 points Saturday night, despite the cut over his right eye. But he could have done a better job of getting his teammates (other than Ellington) involved in the offensive flow, too, in the title game.<O></O>

<O></O>

Paul Harris (Team USA White/Niagara Falls; 17.8 points, 9.0 points and 3.6 assists per game)

Frank Says: His jump shot (to a great degree) and his decision making with the ball are going to need a lot of refinement if he’s going to be a full-time guard on the college level. But he’s 6-3 and about 225 pounds, and he gets maximum results out of all of that bulk and strength.<O></O>

<O></O>

Wayne Ellington (Team USA Blue/Merion, PA, The Episcopal Academy; 20.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game)

Frank Says: Offensively, he’s nearly as complete as Mayo. And there wasn’t a player with more fluidity, be it his velvety jump shot or slick/keep the defender on his heels/drives. He is North Carolina’s next All-America caliber guard.<O></O>

<O></O>

Daequan Cook (Team USA Red/Dayton, OH, Dunbar; 20.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game)

Frank Says: He doesn’t have nearly the offensively versatility or fluidity of Ellington but he’s a more explosive (at least, vertically) athlete. With some ball-handling polish, he’ll be an All-Big Ten performer at Ohio State before too deeply into his college career.<O></O>

<O></O>

SECOND TEAM<O></O>

Bill Walker (Team USA White/Cincinnati North College Hill; 17.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game)

Frank Says: No matter how well I’m able to describe the way this guy jumps, you’ll still be stunned the first time you see him elevate with both elbows above the iron to darn near shatter a backboard. He has off-the charts strength and improving ball-handling, passing and jump-shooting skills.<O></O>

<O></O>

Kyle Singler (Team USA White/Medford, OR, South; 14.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game)

Frank Says: This 6-8 wing has more long-term potential than any player in the event besides Oden and Mayo. Along with fellow junior-to-be and Portland Elite Legends teammate Kevin Love (Lake Oswego), he’ll go down as one of the all-time best ever out of Oregon.<O></O>

<O></O>

Gerald Henderson (Team USA Red/Merion, PA, The Episcopal Academy; 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game)

Frank Says: The only thing he lacks right now to be among Mike Krzyzewski’s better players very early into his Duke career is the kind of legitimate jump shot that can keep defenders honest. “Unorthodox” describes his jumper right now.<O></O>

<O></O>

Maxim Sheleketo (Russia/Petrovsk; 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game)

Frank Says: He’s listed at 6-10 on his team’s roster but looks a lot closer to 6-8. Never mind, though: He could be in the NBA one day.<O></O>

<O></O>

Chen Jianghua (China)

Frank Says: Listed at 6-2 (probably very generously), his point guard skills surpassed any of his event counterparts other than Mayo. If he wasn’t the quickest player with the ball in his hands in the event, he was certainly the fastest. According to the team roster, he turned 16 on March 12. Relocate him to the United States and he’d be a McDonald’s All-America in a couple of years.

<O></O>

Recently elected to the USBWA Hall of Fame, Frank Burlison is Scout.com’s National Basketball Expert and also covers college basketball for the Long Beach (CA) Press-Telegram. He can be reached at frank.burlison@presstelegram.com. Read more of Burlison’s pieces at www.frankhoops.com

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