O.J. Mayo

O.J. Mayo scored 29 points, including 20 in the first half, to lead USC to its sixth victory in seven games with a 73-59 victory over the Washington Huskies.

USC is now 15-7 overall and 6-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

The game was billed as the battle of two of the top star freshmen, Derrick Rose of Memphis and OJ Mayo of Southern California. Neither one lived up to the hype but in the end, it was the Rose’s team that got the 62-58 victory in overtime.

Mayo ended with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists but shot 6-for-20 from the field, including missing 7 straight shots at one point. Rose finished with 9 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists but had 5 turnovers.

“I’m just trying to get better as a player,” Mayo said. “I’m not perfect, but I strive to be perfect. Nobody plays perfect but I just try to get better.”

O.J. Mayo led the Trojans with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists but USC was not able to upset #4 ranked Kansas as the Jayhawks pulled it out 59-55, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. Mayo had an off night, shooting just 6-of-21 from the floor while adding 5 turnovers.

It won’t get any easier as the Trojans now go to New York and play #3 ranked Memphis on Tuesday, featuring another super freshman, Derrick Rose.

O.J. Mayo wasn’t the only freshman on the USC Trojan basketball team making some noise in a 66-55 victory over Oklahoma on Thursday night. Fellow freshman and Mayo recruit, Davon Jefferson scored 23 points, while Mayo added 18.

O.J. was struggling in the first half, shooting 1 of 8 from the field but turned it on in the 2nd half scoring 11 points in a row and 15 of his 18 total points for the Trojans to pull away.

“I wasn’t hitting any shots in the first half, but it didn’t really matter to me because of the lead we had going into the second half,” he said. “It’s all about winning.

“In the second half, I got the opportunities to get some easy baskets.”

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

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.”

According to the LA Times, not only has O.J. Mayo been impressive on the court but he’s doing well in the classroom as well. Mayo is on pace to become a PAC-10 honor roll student and planned to begin taking classes in his major — real estate development and business management — next semester. He could have enough credits to be a semester ahead by the end of this year.

“Only time will tell” whether the projected lottery pick in the 2008 NBA draft remains in school next year, Mayo said, “but right now I’m getting ready for next year and moving on toward my major.”

If you watched opening night of the NBA on TNT may have seen the NBA’s new commercial and slogan for the season -“Where Amazing Happens.” Perhaps when it is all said and done and O.J. Mayo turns USC basketball into a powerhouse, they can add one more picture to their slide show.

Photo from SLAM Magazine (No. 122).