O.J. Mayo scored 14 points on 6 of 13 shooting in 30 minutes in his first NBA preseason game as the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Houston Rockets 96-93.

Marc Iavaroni had some nice things to say about O.J. Mayo via Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

“He arrives early and stays late. His competitive spirit never needs booster cables. O.J. Mayo is making a smooth transition so far. He’s shown everything he’s shown before… He’s a tremendous competitor. He pays a lot of attention to defense. He’s got a balanced game. He’s learning that he can be an assassin in this league.”

The Memphis Edge senses something is different this year about this Memphis team and he can already tell from the (informal) practices:

When rookie guard O.J. Mayo is absolutely angry and unapproachable when his team loses a pick-up game…

When Mayo challenges 7-footer Darko Milicic and the pair needs to be separated (without incident) by teammates…

When Mayo is passionately challenging his teammates to continue a postgame, conditioning drill and is bitterly disappointed when his plea is met with avoidance…

For O.J. Mayo fans looking to attend some Memphis Grizzlie games this season, there are two promotional giveaway nights that feature O.J. Mayo memorabilia.

Dec. 12 vs. Chicago Bulls: O.J. Mayo Jersey Backpack presented by Pepsi

April 10 vs. Phoenix Suns: O.J. Mayo Bobblehead Night

Matt Tumbleson sat down with O.J. Mayo for an interview on his blog, Tumble’s Rumbles. On what he likes about Memphis so far:

I love Memphis. I love everything about it. The barbeque is fantastic. It has really been great to me so far.

O.J. Mayo, of the Memphis Grizzlies, was named today to the 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Select Team to help prepare the 2008 USA Senior National Team for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In addition to Mayo, the other 9 players selected include:

LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City NBA); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City NBA); Luther Head (Houston Rockets); Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Kevin Martin (Sacramento Kings); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) and Rodney Stuckey (Detroit Pistons).

Playing in the 4th game in 4 days, O.J. Mayo scored 18 points, including a 69 foot 3 pointer at the end of the 1st quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 78-76.