The New York Times has an article about college offering attractive pit stops on way to N.B.A. Check out what they had to say about Mayo:

In Mayo’s case, he made sure to find a place that could help him the most. U.S.C. did not recruit him last year; instead, he called Floyd, who said he was nearly speechless.

College coaches typically spend hours swooning over talented prospects like Mayo. But in this case, Mayo had a shopping list for his one-year college stopover. Mayo told Floyd he wanted to play for someone with N.B.A. coaching experience, which Floyd had with Chicago and New Orleans. Mayo also wanted to put his stamp on a program, like Patrick Ewing did at Georgetown in the 1980s, not perpetuate the established legacy of a perennial basketball powerhouse like U.C.L.A. or Connecticut.

He also wanted the marketing benefits of being in Los Angeles, much as quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush tapped before him in the Trojans’ football program.

Mayo is so talented, Floyd said, it would be “irresponsible” to even ask him to return for a second season. He is thrilled just to have Mayo, considered by many recruiters to be the top player in the class of 2007, for one. An ancillary benefit is that Mayo has already attracted other talented recruits, including Brandon Jennings, a Los Angeles native and player for Oak Hill (Va.) Academy who is regarded as the top point guard in the high school class of 2008. Jennings will probably not even play alongside Mayo.