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

With O.J. Mayo set to make his college debut this Saturday for the USC Trojans, the Press Enterprise has a great article on there being More to Mayo than Hype.

Mayo is a smart, academic, hard-working team guy and leader interested in more of the world than the 94-by-50-foot stage where he’s made himself famous. He’d rather outwork you than get by on his talent. And as much as he plans to become one of the 50 top players in NBA history, he’s also dedicated to reviving his West Virginia hometown as a real estate developer.

USA Today has an article about O.J. Mayo and how he has dispelled preconceptions.

I’m just a ballplayer. Am I a competitive ballplayer? Yeah. Do I want to win? Do I really want to work harder than anyone? Yeah. But as a person, I’m just like the next man. I’m no better than the next man. I’m no better than the next student or the next person. I just have a God-given ability to play basketball, and I want to use that to the utmost to support my family and support myself.

“I’m no better than you,” Mayo says. “I’m no better than the man on the corner with a ‘Hungry’ sign. I just have a talent, and I want to use it.”

Scoop Jackson of ESPN has come up with his 07-08 NBAipedia and has an interesting entry for O.J. Mayo:

O.J. Mayo (legend est. 2004) is the USC freshman guard who will be the most-watched college player by NBA execs this year. Will be the most-anticipated freshman coming out of college since Carmelo Anthony — possibly more than Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. The Next LeBron. The Next D-Wade. The Next Kobe. Pay attention to the Bobcats, Sixers, Timberwolves, Kings, Hawks, Hornets and especially the Clippers (only because of the L.A. connection) to see if (more likely when) they start losing games to get a shot at getting Mayo first in next year’s draft. A recent report from an ESPN college basketball analyst out of Southern Cal: “Nick Young better be glad he left school early, because this kid Mayo would have ruined his NBA future. He’s that good.”

Peter Simones has an article in today’s Daily Trojan: When nobody’s watching: O.J. Mayo not who you think he is

Check out this story of Mayo’s work ethic:

After the first night’s competition was all said and done, seven games had been decided - Mayo’s side had won five. The players walked over to their duffle bags, threw on jean shorts, changed shoes, sat down and joked about their summer experiences.

Everyone, that is, except Mayo.

Mayo never left the court. While everyone else was lounging, Mayo was practicing step-back 3-pointers. He would gather the ball, take one slashing dribble forward, hop backward so he was just behind the 3-point line and then shoot.

He missed his first two shots, cussed under his breath, then made 13 shots in a row. Most people would start getting excited at five or six consecutive threes. Mayo made 13, then cussed again after he missed an attempt at 14.

Andy Katz has a great article on the maturity of O.J. Mayo.