In SLAM Online’s definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players, they rank O.J. Mayo at #46 based solely on projected ‘10-11 performance. Mayo was also ranked #46 last season.

Some of their points:

• Mayo is one of only 13 players since 2000 to average 18 points over their first two years in the League
• Mayo played all 82 games in each of his two NBA seasons, a true testament to his durability and his commitment to the game
• Mayo scored 20-plus points 31 times last season with a season-high 40 points against Denver
• One glaring weakness is his inability or outright refusal to take it to the rack. Mayo only attempted 3.4 and 3.2 free throws per contest in ‘09 and ‘10

In a 3 piece blog post, Kelly Dwyer ranks the top 30 NBA shooting guards.

While O.J. Mayo was #19, the most interesting part is that Mayo was in every picture of all 3 posts. Check them out:

Top 1-10 Top 11-20 Top 21-30

SLAM Online has a good article and interview about how O.J. Mayo shows love to underprivileged kids.

Before Mayo walked out the door, he took off his fresh-out-the-box kicks (the Mayo’s of course), signed them, and gave them to a young kid who had somehow gone empty handed.

The LA Times All Things Trojan Blog has two great entries on why OJ Mayo should stay at USC for another year and why he should go pro.

Among the reasons to stay:
- Highly touted DeMar DeRozan will be an incoming freshman and could help Mayo’s college legacy of bringing USC basketball to the spotlight

Some reasons to go to the NBA:
- Guaranteed money. Just look at what happened to Shaun Livingston. If a career threatning injury were to happen to Mayo at USC, his draft status and future would be very cloudy.

What do you think? Should he stay another year or bolt for the association?

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.

The LA Times had an article last week on how scouts are seeing O.J. Mayo’s future in the NBA.

Is Mayo a lottery pick? Two scouts came away with different opinions:

I don’t think that’s a slam dunk, but he’s in that range.
I’d be shocked if he went any lower than seventh.

The next LeBron?

I think he’s a little overrated… the word was out that this guy is the next LeBron James. I do not think he is the next coming of LeBron James in any way.

Only time will tell if Mayo can prove the doubters wrong.

SI.com has a piece on O.J. Mayo and his journey to California. Some interesting tidbits from the piece include:

• O.J. Mayo has a love for chess and thinking 2 or 3 moves ahead
• Despite wishes from the man Mayo calls “grandfather” and his mom, O.J. still chose USC
• O.J. is studying business-management and real-estate investment because he wants to rebuild his community back home.

As in cross town rival UCLA’s highly touted freshman, Kevin Love. Both O.J. and Kevin, who are good friends off the court, share the cover this month on Sports Illustrated and Sporting News.

    

You can read the SI article online: O.J. Mayo vs. Kevin Love: A Fight Between Friends