O.J. Mayo (Official Thread)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

LINK

4/13/05

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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]OJ Mayo and Bill Walker: High School Phenoms[/font]​

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</TD></TR><TR><TD width=486>[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]April 8, 2005[/font]</TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2> </TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Due to the massive amounts of coverage that DraftCity has been bringing you draft fans, we got a little behind in one of the exclusive stories that we promised to bring you, but here it is. While we were covering the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago on March 21st, we happened to get to see two of the top high school players in the nation, regardless of age, go through an extensive workout in front of only 10 or so people. Being from Ohio, I was immediately able to recongnize star sophomore prospects O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker the second they walked in the gym. For those of you who don’t know, both Mayo and Walker are consensus top 5 prospects in the class of 2007… Mayo the consensus #1.

Mayo, a 6’5 204 lb. PG, is regarded by some as the best player in the country, no matter the grade. He doesn’t really have any noticeable flaws. None. He has a very good handle, can stroke it from NBA three point range, and can create for others. O.J. plays during the high school season for Cincinnati North College Hill and over the summer for the D-1 Greyhounds AAU team. He plays against the top competition in the nation during the summer, as he has been playing at 17-U AAU level since he was in 8th grade. Due to the fact that Ohio does not allow middle school players to play high school basketball, Mayo played varsity basketball at Rose Hill Christian in Kentucky, where he averaged 21.8 points as a 7th grader and 20.5 points as an 8th grader. He then transferred to North College Hill and scored 30.9 points per game as a freshman and averaged 27.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 3.5 steals a game this past season. He plays like a man amongst boys. He can do absolutely anything he wants when he is on the floor. He has the looks and maturity of a grown man. In my opinion, he is hands down the best player in the country, regardless of age.

Bill Walker, a 6’7 WG/WF, is O.J.’s best friend and teammate on both the high school and AAU level. He partakes in daily workouts with O.J. during the high school season and the AAU season. During the high school season, the duo participates in daily three hour workouts. During the AAU season, those daily workouts range from three to six hours. Walker is unquestionably one of the top leapers in the country and possesses a deadly three point shot. The Vince Carter (Early Toronto and current New Jersey days) comparisons are inevitable, and I am hard-pressed to disagree with them. What makes Bill even more lethal is that he has a chiseled 220 pound physique that gives him the ability to outmuscle any player on the high school level if he chooses to post up. Barring an age limit being put in place, Bill and O.J. are definitely at the top of the list of draft prospects for the 2007 draft.

Now that I’ve given you guys a little bit of background information about these two, I’ll tell you what the workout was like. The intensity of the workout was unparalleled. Walker and Mayo went for approximately an hour and a half non-stop and at full speed through a series of NBA drills. These drills included reading screens, full court dribbling drills leading right into jump shots, mid range jump shots, and attacking the basket. Just about the only knock on Bill Walker coming into this year was that he wasn’t quite the strongest ball handler…boy, has that changed. Bill was extremely fluid going up and down the floor at full speed in the ball handling drills. He was able to change directions and speeds very easily while keeping his head up and the ball low and tight. Bill began to shoot NBA three pointers off of these drills with absolute ease. At one time, we counted that Bill made 7 straight NBA three pointers in a row after dribbling full speed up the floor with a defender on him. Walker then showed off his midrange game, in which he has an absolutely astonishing lift on his shot, making it impossible for any defender to block. Walker then started attacking the basket, where he used his giant strides to get to the basket in the blink of an eye. He finished every one of his takes to the rim with an explosive dunk, where he was at least a foot above the rim on each and every one of them.

O.J. was going through the workout even though he had sprained his ankle in the high school state championship just two days earlier, showing his great toughness. In the full court ball handling drills that lead to NBA three pointers, O.J. handled the ball as if it was on a string and showed unlimited range. At one point, we counted him hitting 9 straight three pointers from NBA range (following which he missed one… and then proceeded to hit 5 more in a row). Mayo did not have the usual (great) lift on his shot due to the ankle injury, but his mechanics were very impressive. Like Walker, O.J. showed a great midrange jumper with very quick release and good form. When it came to exploding to the basket, he was a bit limited because of the bum ankle, but he was still easily dunking the ball in all of the drills. We would see in a few minutes that even with a bad ankle, Mayo could still leap higher then the majority of college players.

At the conclusion of their workout, O.J. and Bill decided to have an impromptu dunk contest. Bill started off getting loose by easily touching the top of the square on the backboard. He then started off by throwing the ball off of the backboard and doing a reverse windmill dunk. This dunk would have easily gotten a perfect score in the NBA dunk contest. He then continued with a flurry of windmill, 360, and between the legs dunks that would have definitely given Josh Smith a run for his money. As for O.J., even though he was suffering from an ankle injury, he was still able to throw the ball off of the shot clock and dunk it (a la Gerald Green in the 2005 McDonald’s dunk contest). He followed that with a flurry of windmill dunks and dunked 2 balls at the same time, reminiscent of the dunk Amir Johnson did in the McDonald’s dunk contest.

While I had seen these two play before in person a few times and was fully aware of their talents, I had never seen anything like this in my life. These two looked like pro prospects, and they were only sophomores in high school. Both I and Prerak Shah (the other DraftCity staff member in attendance) agreed that Mayo and Walker were more impressive than ANY of the players playing in the Roundball Classic. Only Gerald Green even came close. This should tell you how immensely talented these two sophomores are. Whether they are able to come out in the 2007 NBA draft right out of high school, or if they have to go to college for two years, you will hear the names of O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker very, very early on draft night.

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OJ Mayo:

DraftCity: What are your personal thoughts on the possible 20 year old age requirement that the NBA is considering imposing?

Mayo: Well, it’s good for collegiate basketball as far as keeping all of the good players going to college and making it more exciting.

DraftCity: Well if it were to be imposed, how would it effect your personal plans for after high school?

Mayo: It really wouldn’t effect my plans at all because all along I’ve planned on going to college and seeing where I go from there.

DraftCity: Who do you personally think should enter the NBA draft out of this year’s high school class?

Mayo: Gerald Green

DraftCity: There’s talk of Andray Blatche, Brandon Rush, and Monta Ellis entering the draft. Do you think they’re ready?

Mayo: I don’t know if they’re ready, but I think Gerald Green is the man of the 05 class.

DraftCity: I don’t know if you heard, but the vertical jump tester wasn’t even high enough for him. It’s 11’6 and he still got his hand over it.

Mayo: Yeah, I heard about that. That’s crazy.

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Bill Walker:

DraftCity: What are your personal thoughts on the potential 20 year old age limit that the NBA is considering imposing?

Bill: It is what it is. What do I gotta do? It’s right for the vets. I mean, they want to keep their jobs, and this will let them keep their jobs.

DraftCity: Well if the age limit is imposed, you and O.J. are going to have to go to college. What colleges were you guys looking at?

Bill: We’re just looking at conferences right now.[/font]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

It is amazing just how talented these two sophmores are...its sick.

LINK

4/13/05

Mayo, Rios At Hoop or Hype (NC)
by Staff on April 11, 2005
Brian Clifton’s annual Hoops or Hype tournament in Greensboro, NC was once again a success. The tournament result indicates the talented collection of teams that were on display.

Tournament Results
1. D1 Greyhounds
2. Team Breakdown
3. SC Celtics
4. Long Island Lightning
5. D One Sports

The tournament was loaded with some of the best sophomores in the country. OJ Mayo, Edwin Rios, Billy Walker, Eric Wallace, Corey Fisher, Max Groebe, Marshall Moses, and Darius Gabriel were all on display.

Mayo (pictured top) and Walker teamed to lead their team to an undefeated record. Mayo used his sharp passing, sweet shooting, and dunks to get the attention of the fans. He has added close to 10 more pounds of muscle and grew an inch since last summer. We do not expect him to miss a beat this summer. Walker may have been the bigger crowd pleaser of the two. His thunderous dunks left fans wondering if Vince Carter had left the NJ Nets and joined the D-1 Greyhounds. He has added some more muscle and improved his ball handling and shooting. They are arguably the best duo in the country.

O.J. is just so talented it is amazing he is only a sophmore in high school.

 

[HabaneroBuck]

O.J. is just so talented it is amazing he is only a sophmore in high school.

He is the same age as those in the junior class, as has been noted. Still, he's what I like to see in developing studs: an all-around player.

All the info. on the net points towards the Labor Union accepting Stern's proposal for a 20-year-old age limit for the NBA in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. If the agreement is for the limit to be 20 rather than two or three years removed from HS graduation, then O.J. would have to play only one year of post-graduate basketball to qualify. Still, it is a good thing to read him make statements along the lines of preparing for life outside of HS as well as the NBA.

We could have a good shot, and he seems like a nice fellow, as well.

 

[smitty03]

Word had it around the state tournament in Columbus, that if Mayo does not go straight to the NBA, he will be VERY interested in joining the Buckeyes. Although it was just a rumor swirling around Columbus and we should all take it for what its worth, I was suprised every rumor had him becoming a Buckeye.

 

[jwinslow]

It's surprising looking backwards, but with scarlet tinted glasses its not as surprising looking into the future:

2005 - Stud transfer Sylvester Mayes & All-MAC BG transfer Ronald Lewis (rumored to be the best player on OSU's team in 2004 while he sat out a year for transferring) join team and lead buckeyes to another 20 win season and make noise in the tourney

2006 - 5-star Daequan Cook convinces 5-stars David Lighty and Mike Conley to come to OSU. The NBA age limit forces otherwise #1 NBA draft pick Greg Oden to go to college, and its a no brainer that he join his AAU teammates (Cook, Lighty, Conley) at OSU. Drew Lavender coming to OSU from OU is simply icing on the cake. Raymar Morgan is also a strong possibility.

2008 - Top-25 frosh BJ Mullens has already committed, and other top national talent is located nearby with interest in OSU.

 

[Yertle]

It's surprising looking backwards, but with scarlet tinted glasses its not as surprising looking into the future:

2005 - Stud transfer Sylvester Mayes & All-MAC BG transfer Ronald Lewis (rumored to be the best player on OSU's team in 2004 while he sat out a year for transferring) join team and lead buckeyes to another 20 win season and make noise in the tourney

2006 - 5-star Daequan Cook convinces 5-stars David Lighty and Mike Conley to come to OSU. The NBA age limit forces otherwise #1 NBA draft pick Greg Oden to go to college, and its a no brainer that he join his AAU teammates (Cook, Lighty, Conley) at OSU. Drew Lavender coming to OSU from OU is simply icing on the cake. Raymar Morgan is also a strong possibility.

2008 - Top-25 frosh BJ Mullens has already committed, and other top national talent is located nearby with interest in OSU.

Did I miss something, or is your future wish-list missing the entire subject of this thread?

2007 - OJ Mayo, the second person to win three Mr. Basketball in Ohio awards, joins the Buckeyes along with center Dallas Lauderdale. The young Buckeyes win their second straight Big 10 title and reach the Final Four in back-to-back years for the first time since the early 60s.

 

[jwinslow]

Did I miss something, or is your future wish-list missing the entire subject of this thread?

Sorry, I got so excited about listing those names as more than pipe dreams... I forgot to finish... I meant that it would make sense for OJ to want to come to a top program like ours considering the players that could be coming in.

 

[bucknut11]

OJ was named First-Team All-America by USA Today

Oh yeah, and just for what it's worth, I could dunk as a sixth grader too...

O.J. Mayo, 6-6, guard, North College Hill (Cincinnati) Just the stats: Averaged 27.4 points and 7.8 rebounds. Only second sophomore named Ohio's Mr. Basketball. LeBron James was the first.

In 10 years I want to be doing what? "Playing in the NBA, helping win a championship."

Tell us about your first dunk: "I was in sixth grade. I put one down against an eighth-grader."

Greatest fear: "That I won't be successful."

NBA player who reminds you of yourself: Dwyane Wade.

Why do you wear No. 32? "Don't know, but I've worn it since the fifth grade."

Should there be an age limit in the NBA? "I don't think so because young players have shown they can dominate."

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

OJ Mayo | Heir to the Throne


Words. Pat Cassidy

The teenage girls at the McDonald’s drive-thru window bust out in schoolgirl giggles when I ask them if they’ve ever heard of OJ Mayo.

“Yeah, we know that boy. Are you kidding? Everybody knows OJ,” says one through an embarrassed smile. She leans out the window and points beyond a busy intersection of a Cincinnati suburb. “His school’s right down that road. He’s easy to find. He’s probably in the basketball gym right now.”

No, not in the gym; at least not this second. A handful of players are there, shooting around after practice, but they can’t be who I’m looking for. They look like kids. None of them has the stature – or the aura – to be The Next LeBron. A lanky baby-faced student dressed in a North College Hill High School uniform approaches; he seems to know why I’m here. “’Mechi,” as he would later introduce himself, leads me down a back staircase through a web of dimly lit, paint-chipped NCH Trojan crimson-colored hallways and worn locker rooms until we reach an unmarked door.

I find the King’s heir in a grungy equipment room.

The 6-6, 17-year-old OJ Mayo is sitting in the dark among football pads and lacrosse gear, strewn, scattered and piled about him. He’s hunkered close to a TV, remote in hand, studying a high school highlight tape of Jason Kidd. The light from the screen flicks pale, cool blue on OJ’s face while he plays, rewinds and plays again a particular series over and over – a collage of clips of Kidd running his high school fast break. Stealing. Running. Passing. Scoring. Dominating.

A few feet from OJ rests a swell of unopened recruiting mail – Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, Georgia Tech and Michigan – and those are just some of the logos peeking out from the top of the heap. Chances are, there will be no college for Ovinton J’Anthony Mayo. When he’s asked about the possibility of him playing even a little college ball before heading to the NBA, he just smiles. He knows.

Six years ago, I traveled to a place much like North College Hill searching for the next Jordan. I stood in another bandbox gym in Ohio, in the fall of 2000, watching a 15-year old freshman named LeBron James loft jumpers during his lunchtime recess. It was two full years before the rest of the basketball world would really take notice, jumpstarting the transformation of the kid into The King. Back then, James was innocent and unguarded. During the day I spent with him he was just as excited to talk about how and he and his friends were going to meet some girls at the movie theater later that night as he was about his NBA dreams. Yet LeBron was still mature for his age and seemed to know then he was destined for greater things, despite being years away from tooling to and from high school in his H2.

In many ways, OJ is a lot like that younger LeBron. Personable, poised, smart (check his 3.3 GPA) and already media savvy. And despite having already been in the media spotlight for years, OJ, like the neophyte LeBron, can comes across as shockingly innocent at times. When OJ finds out that Dime is based in New York City, he seems genuinely amazed at the notion of being able to get anywhere in the city, or any of its boroughs, by subway. “So it’s possible to live in Brooklyn and still have a girl in the Bronx?” he asks in earnest, and he’s pleased to learn that it is.

OJ and his family have had him on a path to the League since middle school. It’s a strategy with an endgame designed to culminate in the charismatic, wildly talented sophomore going straight to the NBA, the likely No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and reaping all of the endorsement and sneaker dollars that come with it; the building blocks of his own LeBron-like empire.

“OJ has a chance, if he grows three or four more inches and continues to get even stronger, to be among the greatest of the great. I really believe that,” says Sonny Vacarro, Reebok’s Director of Grassroots Basketball. “LeBron was the first player born into an NBA-ready body and OJ’s on the right track. Right now, at worst, he’s an absolutely tremendous player and I think a future NBA All-Star many times over.”

Mayo’s current momentum is undeniable. As of press time, he’s averaging 28.3 points (45 percent from three), 8 boards and 7 dimes a night for the best high school team in Ohio. His name has already reached the highest peaks of the basketball world. He’s a high school sophomore with Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony, Drew Gooden and yes, LeBron James, programmed into his cell phone.

In James, Mayo has found a friend and mentor. “I mean, who’s had it worse with this kind of stuff than LeBron has?” Mayo says. “We talk once a week and he’s always telling me, ‘You’re the truth. Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll be where I am.’ It means a lot coming from him. It’s great having him to go to when I need advice.”

“I know what kind of pressure OJ is facing,” LeBron says. “All I tell him is that I’m here for him. I’m trying to help guide him and lead him in the right direction. He’ll be alright though. He’s a good kid.”

Baron Davis lights up when asked about Mayo. “OJ is my dawg,” he says. Davis says that he calls OJ all the time to ask about his grades and to keep up with what’s going on in his life. He says Mayo has an “open invitation” to chill at his house whenever he wants.

Mayo’s presence is making enough waves that David Stern has even mentioned him in interviews. OJ, for his part, had no idea that the Commissioner had spoken about him.

“Really?” he asks incredulously. “I didn’t know that. I didn’t know he knew my name.”

Born in Huntington, W.Va., Mayo commuted across the West Virginia/Kentucky border to attend Rose Hill Christian School in Ashland, Ky, for grade school. In Kentucky, a high school athlete does not have to be in ninth grade to play for his school’s varsity team, so as a seventh-grader, OJ was not only good enough to make the varsity squad, but he also averaged 23 ppg for the season. Suddenly, the college letters began to stuff Mayo’s mailbox. “I’ll never forget the first one,” OJ says. “Seventh grade. Marshall University.”

As an eighth-grader, he averaged 20 ppg for the varsity and was a first-team all-state selection. By the end of that season, local hype in Huntington was making life difficult– people hanging outside their house, reporters lying in wait to ask questions – so OJ and his family decided it would be best for him to move to Cincinnati and live with his grandfather and AAU coach, Dwaine Barnes. The thought was that in a larger city, OJ could play against better competition and maybe not be such a big fish in such a small pond. Not quite. His transfer in April of his eighth grade year to NCH created so much buzz that local news crews broadcast his enrollment on live TV.

His freshman year did not disappoint as OJ, playing the point, scored close to 30 points per game and averaged a triple-double over the last 15 games of the season. His sophomore campaign has been much the same way, where he’s done most of his work from the shooting guard position. Along with best friend from childhood and fellow sophomore prodigy, Bill Walker, OJ’s fearsome NCH team has been smashing opponents by close to 45 points per game and they haven’t won any game by less than 28 points. As of press time, OJ’s season high in points was 56 against Lockland High School – in just three quarters of play – and at 19-1, his NCH team is the No. 1-ranked team in the state.

“Every team we play, they come into the game and their main goal is to somehow try to stop OJ,” says NCH head coach Jamie Mahaffey. “And the funny thing is that he’d rather pass first than shoot anyway. Just because he averages 30, doesn’t mean he’s a gunner. He just happens to be able to score really, really easily.”

OJ’s points can come in furious volleys; it’s like he decides when and how much he’s going to score. He breaks defenders down off the bounce or simply overpowers them, able to absorb contact in the air and finish. He’s strong enough to drop fadeaways off glass from well outside the lane or spot up for three. He is murderous on the break – when Mayo and Walker get out running it looks like wolves have been let loose in a high school gym. Those breaks, more often than not, end up in ferocious dunks.

When opponents talk about OJ, it’s almost always with a certain sense of awe. “He’s very, very tough to guard because he’s so athletic,” says McDonald’s All-American guard and UNC recruit Bobby Frasor, a senior at Brother Rice High School in Chicago who matched up with Mayo at last summer’s Reebok ABCD Camp. “He’s also got these huge hands so his control is great. He can do a lot in the air too. There was one play down there where he jump-stopped and did a 360 in the air to make that jumper. It was amazing.”

“He’s so strong that the first problem is just finding someone who can even begin to deal with him on defense,” says Ed Heintschel, head coach at Toldeo St. John’s High School, ranked No. 3 in the state of Ohio when they played – and lost to – North College Hill early on in the season. “He does things that you just don’t see on this level. I’m talking about stuff like catching the ball and shooting it from well beyond the top of the key all in one motion. I’ve been coaching here for 26 years and we’ve traveled all over playing the country’s best players and teams and OJ is right at the top of the best I’ve ever faced.

“Put it this way – you have to see him to believe him.”

And they have. People turn out en masse to see Mayo and his North College Hill Trojans. Every game they play is to packed, standing-room only gyms in all parts of Ohio and Northern Kentucky. And many times after games, Mayo stays for an hour or more to sign autographs and to pose for pictures with fans. His return to Huntington this season for a game against Parkersburg South High School caused such frenzy that it was described by the Huntington Herald-Dispatch as “what it must have been like for the Beatles upon their first return to their hometown of Liverpool, England.” That night, hundreds of the estimated 3,500 fans in attendance waited in line for OJ’s autograph after watching Mayo scored 27 points, hand out eight assists and crush the home team, 106-66.

The Jason Kidd film session complete, Mayo rises and glides to NCH’s gritty weight room to lift – his second such workout of the day. OJ and his grandfather live across the street from the high school, allowing Mayo to often times arrive at the gym by 6 a.m. to get up 500 jumpers and work through drills. After school, it’s practice with the team, usually followed by staying late to run sprints, work more on his game or weight training. It’s not uncommon for OJ to get home at 10 or 11 o’clock at night to do homework and keep up the GPA.

Even with the high stakes – the potential millions on the table - is such a rigorous schedule a little much for a high school sophomore? Maybe. When we visited with Mayo, he was struggling with a pulled muscle that his team trainer believed to be a result of his working too hard. “The trainer asked me, ‘Aren’t you afraid you’re going to get burnt out?’” OJ says. “And I just said, ‘No. If I am working too hard, God will let me know. God will make me slow down.’ And maybe this was it. It’s just that I want all of it so bad… I have to succeed. I cannot fail.”

This is his blessing and his curse. He’s a teenager with a multi-million dollar job being dangled in front of his face, a 17-year old soul trapped in a vehicle that can lift up his entire family with the always overriding “I cannot fail” constantly being whispered in his ear, making him afraid to let up.

While Mayo has his eyes on the NBA prize, there are scores of characters out there with designs on him, looking for a piece of OJ and his future.

“I’m really just doing my best to always be aware, to always be responsible,” OJ says. “And to be honest, it’s not really that hard. I keep a small circle of people around me who I know that I can trust and I keep it at that.

“I can usually tell the people who are trying to give you stuff for ‘free.’ I’m like, ‘Come on, nothing’s for free in this world.’”

“It’s easier for us to deal with all of that stuff during the high school season than it is during the summer,” Coach Mahaffey says. “Come summertime, it’s much easier for people to come into contact with him.”

Despite the efforts of OJ and his circle, it’s impossible to completely shut out all of the game’s hustlers. “We were all a little freaked out the first time an agent called my mom’s job a while back,” Mayo says. “He was like, ‘Is everything good? Do you need any bills paid?’

“After that guy called my mom, I asked ’Bron for some advice on how to handle this kind of stuff and he said not to even answer the phone.”

The Lebron James comparison is one that OJ hears constantly, and he seems to relish it. “Who wouldn’t be cool with being compared to LeBron?” says OJ when asked if he ever tires of having his name linked to James’. James is only an NBA sophomore – is the basketball world ready for another LeBron?

“I think we all needed a clearing out space,” Vacarro says. “LeBron was so special, that it’s been unfair to compare kids to him. But with OJ, when it’s time for him, even though LeBron James will only be 24 or 25 years old, we’ll need the next LeBron James.

“Within [OJ’s] class there are some great, great players like Edwin Rios (Miami Sr. High School, Fla.) and Taylor King (Santa Ana Mater Dei, Calif.). Whoever makes it through all of these guys and ends up on top? There’s a lot of money to be made. LeBron showed that a 20-year old can carry a brand. People don’t realize that Michael Jordan was 22 when he started with Nike. Even a guy out of high school like Kobe Bryant grew into that role.”

OJ Mayo is in the final hours of any kind of existence that remotely resembles that of a teenager. The window is closing fast and the onset of full-blown OJ Mania and big business is imminent.

I’m shooting around with OJ after his weight workout and joke with him that the girls at McDonald’s got giddy when his name came up.

“Oh yeah?” he says, not taking his eyes off the rim while he lines up a jumper, clearly trying to play it cool.

After a few seconds he can’t take it anymore. “So seriously, what did they say about me? Good stuff?” he asks with a hopeful smile.

Maybe there’s still some time left for OJ to be a kid after all.

Great Article about O.J.

 

[jimotis4heisman]

i believe "dime" has an article on him, i read it a few days ago but i had never heardof/seen the magazine before

i looked for it online, obviously you are better at life than me...

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

RIVALS.COM$

4/24/05

Games ended Saturday afternoon at the Kingwood Classic with a rousing 80-76 overtime win by the D-1 Greyhounds over the Atlanta Celtics. Leading the Greyhounds to victory was the No. 1 ranked player in the class 2007 O.J. Mayo.

Mayo went for 42 points, including 6 three-pointers. Most of his threes came from NBA distance.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scouthoops.com$
4/25/05

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Sunday's Action

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Kingwood Classic: Day Three Rundown
By Dave Telep National Recruiting Director
Date: Apr 24, 2005
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O.J.'s team did not win the tournament, but he served notice that he is the top prospect in high school regardless of class. If you’re looking to pinpoint what separates O.J. Mayo from your average sophomore sensation, ponder this: no one, maybe not even Greg Oden, has the kind of drawing power Mayo does. The bottom line is that right now he’s putting fannies in the seats. …
​

One interesting note is that not one college coach was watching him play, obviously they do not take him seriously about going to college.​

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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Greg Oden

</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>Spiece Tourney Tips Tonight
By Evan Daniels Basketball Recruiting Editor
Date: Apr 28, 2005

Wake Forest recruits Greg Oden and Mike Conley are sure to be in attendance this weekend in Fort Wayne, as well as a lot of young talent. DeaconSports.com will have full extensive coverage.
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The Spiece Run N Slam in Fort Wayne is one of many stops on the AAU circuit that will be filled with all kinds of talent. While Boo Williams and Kingwood were loaded from top to bottom with talent, the Spiece Run N Slam isn’t going to be any different.

Among the top AAU teams in the country in attendance this weekend will be 64 senior division teams including the host team Spiece Indy Heat, The Family, Michigan Hurricanes, Illinois Wolves, Illinois Fire, D-I Greyhounds, Blessed IJN and many, many more.

The tournament will feature many of the top players in the class of 2006, but features a strong contingent of players from the class of 2007, including 8 of Scout.com’s top 20. There are also several top 2007 stars in attendance including:
O.J. Mayo- D-I Greyhounds
Billy Walker- D-I Greyhounds
Keenan Ellis- D-I Greyhounds
Derrick Rose- Meanstreets Express
Eric Gordon- Spiece Indy Heat
Cole Aldrich- Minnesota Magic
Darquavis Tucker- Michigan Hurricanes
Alex Legion- Michigan Hurricanes
For more on the tournament and the participants stay tuned or check out their Official Site


</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

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Looks like a talented group of players will be on display.​

 

[bucknut11]

Looks like a talented group of players will be on display.

Looks like I know where Thad Matta will be this weekend

 

[jwinslow]

DraftCity recap of Spiece tourney

The first interesting story was that of the connection between O.J. Mayo, Bill Walker, and Reebok. I found it quite odd that there were two Reebok employees at nearly every one of the talented duo’s games. What was even odder was that both Mayo and Walker left the team’s bench during the middle of one of their games to do a Reebok photo shoot. Granted it was a blowout win, but I still found that disconcerting. Reebok sponsors both their AAU team (D-1 Greyhounds) and their high school team (Cincinnati North College Hill). It was also interesting that Mayo and Walker had different Reebok shoes the ones their team was issued. To top things off, one of the Reebok employees that I mentioned before handed Mayo a brand new Reebok headband to wear against the Spiece Indy Heat and looked extremely disappointed when Mayo took it off midway through the game. While I am not saying that there are any illegal activities going on between Reebok and the two, I just thought this was a pretty interesting story for basketball fans.

Mayo and Walker were not the only super talented duo on the same AAU team. Greg Oden and Daequan Cook each had their own stories over the weekend. First of all, there was a rumor going on amongst virtually every single scout on hand that Oden and teammate Mike Conley would join Daequan Cook and commit to Ohio State University. I first heard this rumor as soon as Cook committed to OSU, and now its looking like it actually might happen. Oden and Conley both have visits to Ohio State lined up for this Friday, May 6th. I had the chance to speak with Cook personally and ask him about the rumors of him transferring to Oak Hill Academy and that his grades were sub par. He let it be known on the record that he will not be transferring and that his grades were not an issue at the moment.

...

O.J. Mayo
6’5, 205 lbs.; PG; 2007;
AAU team- D-1 Greyhounds HS-Cincinnati North College Hill (OH)
Win over Grand Rapids Lightning- 11 points
Win over D.T.A- 36 points
Win over Cincinnati Cowboys- 20 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds
Win over Blessed IJN- 21 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 dunks (Sat entire 4th quarter)
Win over King James Shooting Stars- 16 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists (sat entire 4th quarter)
Loss to Spiece Indy Heat- 27 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds

Proclaimed by many as the best high school player in the nation regardless of class, O.J did not disappoint this past weekend. At 6’5”, he possesses the ability to post virtually any guard with his lethal combination of size and strength. Along with his amazing quickness, great handle, and jumpshot (NBA 3 point range), he is virtually unstoppable.

Throughout the tournament, Mayo made helpless defenders look silly as he constantly drilled three pointers from NBA range. After sinking a contested three pointer from about 25 feet, an opposing defender turned to his team’s bench and told his coach “He’s unstoppable, I can’t do anything.” O.J. showed the ability to beat anyone in the country off the dribble, shoot the ball from anywhere on the court, and make passes that only a few players on earth can make. Defensively, he is able to be a lockdown defender any time that he wants to. It was truly a thing of beauty to watch such a talented offensive player dominate on the defensive end as well.

The only real knock that some might have on Mayo is his attitude. I have spoken with him on two different occasions and I have found him to be a very bright and intelligent young man. On the court though, O.J. is constantly arguing with referees and talking trash to other players, but it only seems to motivate him as he normally does something amazing right after getting into it with an opposing player.

As far as the NBA draft is concerned, I feel that O.J. would easily be a lottery pick if he were allowed to enter the draft this year. As far as potential goes, the only high school players that even come close to him are Bill Walker and Greg Oden. Both Prerak Shah and I agreed that both Mayo and teammate Bill Walker were more impressive then any player at the Roundball Classic, including probable 2005 lottery pick Gerald Green. His high school, North College Hill, has a game lined up against national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy next season, which will most likely be on ESPN. If the 20 year old age rule is imposed, fans will have the ability to see O.J. in college for two years. If it is not, fans will probably hear his name called extremely early in the 2007 NBA draft.

 

[wadc45]

Scout $

5/8/05

From the Louisville site...Mayo says UCONN and Louisville are his top 2 at the point and mentions Texas, Ohio State, Illinois, Florida State and Oklahoma State as other schools he is considering.