With a flashy game, a string of off-the-floor incidents and a swervy career path, USC’s O.J. Mayo has been a cyberspace pincushion since he was in seventh grade.

Heard during the UCLA vs USC game:

“O.J. Mayo is a good player. He is not a great player.”

Agree or disagree?

If you watched the TNT broadcast of the Lakers vs Nuggets game Monday night, you may have seen O.J. Mayo sitting near courtside at Staples Center. Apparently, the complimentary tickets were from Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony. NCAA bylaw 16.11.2.2.3 states that student-athletes may not receive “free or reduced-cost admission to professional athletics contests from professional sports organizations, unless such services also are available to the student body in general.” However, it could also be considered a gift from a friend, which would not be a violation.

O.J. Mayo took just 12 shots, deferring to his teammates in an upset win over No. 4 ranked and cross town rival UCLA, 72-63. The battle was between two of the most highly touted freshman in college this year in OJ Mayo and Kevin Love. Mayo finished with 16 points and 4 assists while Love had 18 points and 12 rebounds.

O.J. Mayo’s tattoos tell his story. The words “sacrifice” and “dedication” are hidden under his arms. King Kong is pictured on the back of his arms. “I’d like that to be my motto, I’m King Kong of the court,” he said.

His right arm reveals his childhood nickname “Juice Monster.” On his left arm are two skulls with the words “bad times, good times.”

At the McDonald’s All-American game in Louisville in March, Mayo went 4 for 17, clanging the potential game-winner in the final seconds. But Mayo says he has enough confidence to keep firing, a lesson his idol, Kobe Bryant, reinforced last summer during the final moments of a deadlocked pickup game in L.A. Mayo had made three straight shots, but he passed up the deciding jumper, feeding an open shooter instead. Mayo’s teammate missed; Bryant’s team won. Afterward, Bryant pulled Mayo aside and offered some advice: “When you’ve got it going like that, take the shot!”

“What if he’s open?” replied Mayo.

“It’s different if you’re throwing it to a player you feel can make that shot,” said Bryant. “But throwing it to him just because he’s open doesn’t give the team the best shot of winning.”

Mayo nodded. “It kind of made sense,” he says. Translation: You’re crazy if you think I’m passing in crunch time this season.

I feel like that’s valuable insight into both players.

Via TrueHoop

Freshman star O. J. Mayo scored a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds but Southern California went to 0-3 in the Pac-10 with a lost to #4 rank Washington State.

The 24th-ranked Stanford Cardinals beat No. 22 Southern California Trojans, 52-46, last night. O.J. Mayo, who averaged 20.6 points in his first 13 games, had his worst shooting night as a collegian, finishing with 14 points on 5-for-19 shooting. He also needed three stitches to close a cut over his right eye after the game.

O.J. Mayo’s Pac-10 debut was spoiled by California as the No. 22 Southern California lost 92-82 at the Haas Pavilion in
Berkley. Mayo ended the game with 34 points and was the only USC player to hit a basket in the final 8 minutes.