The junior transfer from North Carolina has been considering the Trojans as well as UCLA and Arizona State. He played high school basketball for Harvard-Westlake and is looking to return to the Los Angeles area because of an illness in the family. The circumstances that caused him to transfer may mean that Stepheson would be eligible to play immediately for his new school.
I've received a number of e-mails about Stepheson over the last few weeks and his name is frequently mentioned on Internet message boards. As somebody observing from a distance, I would imagine that UCLA is the best fit because of its proximity to his family and available scholarships for next season. ASU lacks the former, USC the latter.
More important, this young man has a lot going on in his life right now. I know some people in the recruiting world are antsy, but let's just wish him and his family the best -- wherever he ends up.
O.J. Mayo had a buzzer-beating 69-foot shot the other day in NBA summer league action. Even though he's turning out plenty of highlights, his stats are still lacking. Through five games, he's averaging 4.8 turnovers compared with just 2.6 assists. Mayo's 18.8 points in 31 minutes per game are coming against guys who probably won't make the NBA. Still, it's just for practice so take it with a grain of salt. For more about Mayo's first games as a pro, check out Steve Springer's article in today's paper.
Davon Jefferson has yet to put his sneakers on the court for the Lakers, but it's good to hear that Desmon Farmer is still keeping his dream alive. He scored six points in eleven minutes for Toronto the other day.
Washington's Nick Young has 27 points in two games. Young also has the dubious distinction of getting nine fouls in onee game. Yes, summer league operates on modified rules -- it takes 10 to foul out.
Two stats emerge when you look at O.J. Mayo's NBA summer league bio. In three games, he's averaging 18.7 points -- and 6 turnovers. Although his play may not be consistent, he is showing flashes of brilliance (check out the video clips after the jump).
Davon Jefferson is on the Lakers' squad but has yet to get any playing time.
There's a compelling article in today's LA Times about Brandon Jennings, a highly regarded basketball recruit from Compton who originally committed to USC, switched to Arizona, and then decided to skip college altogether.
Jennings will play for one year in Europe, and many presume that he'll then play in the NBA. He can't go directly to the NBA from high school because of a league rule that the head of the NBA player's union isn't very happy about:
"I continue to be against an age limit, I'm against limiting the options these kids have," union executive director Billy Hunter said. "It's going to be a very big issue the next time we negotiate. . . . I'm strident in my position to eliminate the age limit."
The NBA's current collective bargaining agreement with the union expires after the 2010-11 season.
Hunter said the 2005 approval of a rule that players need to be 19 and a year removed from high school graduation to be drafted came about because it was "the only sticking point to close the deal," and was inserted at the "insistence" of NBA Commissioner David Stern.
I happened to bump into Stern a couple of weeks ago during the NBA Finals and asked him what he felt about the age limit (as established in the league's collective bargaining agreement). His first reaction was glib. "Hey! I signed the deal -- I have to be happy with it!" When I asked if there was any way to improve it, he added, "Well, we asked for two years. We got one. Tune-in in three more years."
Former Trojan Davon Jefferson is on the summer league roster for the Lakers. The 22-man list will be cut to 12 or 13 players later in the week, at which point the team will start playing in the Vegas Summer League.
Former UCLA players Lorenzo Mata-Real and Cedric Bozeman are also with the team right now.
The Pac-10 released its 2008-09 men's basketball prospectus, including tentative schedules. Among the early stats: USC forward Taj Gibson is the league's returning leader in blocked shots. The junior has 153, 42 shy of Sam Clancy's USC record for a career. Arizona State senior Jeff Pendergraph returns second in the league with 101.
To download the two-page USC capsule (PDF), click here.
Story opened plenty of eyes during his sophomore and junior seasons for Artesia and it appeared as if the Trojans had a keeper on their hands. Then things quickly fell apart. He transferred to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, left for undisclosed reason, and ultimately figured USC was no longer the place for him. End of Story.
It's important to appreciate yourself once in a while.
Facebook, the most popular social networking website in the college world, has a feature that allows people to become "fans" of bands, teams, athletes or just about anything. As part of their "news feed," friends can be alerted whenever you pronounce your fanhood for somebody. Like O.J. Mayo.
Glad we cleared that up.
In case you were wondering, Pete Carroll is part of a Facebook group called "I Stand at USC Football Games" and is ranked as a waterboy in one of the trivia contests.
[Note: No guarantee that the O.J. Mayo from the screen shot above is the same one who just joined the Timberwolves Grizzlies--you never know on the Internet. Chris Hansen, is that you?]
L.A. Times reporter Ben Bolch spoke to O.J. Mayo today. Among the more interesting revelations:
Mayo wore glasses during the NBA draft because he was going for a new look. They were non-prescription. Asked if he would continue to wear them: "Maybe every once in a while."
Mayo didn't know that Davon Jefferson hadn't been drafted, but was confident everything would turn out fine. "I'm very disappointed.... I know he worked very hard to prepare. But it will be OK."
I hesitate to call this late-night deal a "blockbuster," as some have labeled it. After all, the two biggest names involved have played a total of 0 minutes in the NBA. They combine for a whopping two seasons of college ball. Still, the move looks pretty good for both teams and gives both sides something to build upon.
USC issued a news release regarding Mayo's becoming the school's highest draft pick in history. Surprising: USC, Kansas, Florida and Texas are the only schools with a top-16 pick in each of the last two drafts. Not surprising: No mention of Davon Jefferson.
Makhtar N'diaye, one of Jefferson's agents with Wasserman Media Group, said after the draft that six NBA teams had expressed interest in his client. N'diaye said Jefferson would play in the NBA summer league and "weigh his options," which could include attempting to obtain free-agent tryouts or playing overseas.
N'diaye would not second-guess Jefferson's decision to enter the draft.
"I'm more disappointed for the kid because I know he worked really hard the last two or three months to make it happen for himself," N'diaye said. "He made a decision that he thought was the right decision, and I support him 100%. It's not for me to judge him."
In case you missed it, O.J. Mayo's BFF (and former Michael Beasley teammate at Kansas State) Bill Walker was selected by Washington with the 17th pick in the second round.
Davon Jefferson couldn't wait for the NBA, but the feeling wasn't mutual.
The former USC freshman who last month signed with an agent, thereby giving up his final three seasons of college eligibility, was not selected in the NBA draft tonight.
"Just a lesson to be learned for a lot of young kids," said Rick Isaacs, Jefferson's Amateur Athletic Union coach.
Isaacs said Jefferson, USC's second-leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, would have been better served by returning to college for one more season.
"Everybody asked why the kid left. I don't know," Isaacs said. "There's a lot of people who will use these kids and tell them what they want to hear, and they should not be allowed on college campuses. Because if one kid's life is ruined, it's one kid too many."
The 6-foot-8 forward reportedly hurt his stock at the Orlando, Fla., predraft camp, showing up overweight and lacking intensity.
"All he needed was one more year," Isaacs said. "One more year and everyone would have seen how good this kid was."
O.J. Mayo became USC's highest selection ever in the NBA draft, going third to Minnesota. ESPN's Hubert Davis (above) said they shoulda' gone with a big man, but Tim Legler (below) points out they needed a point guard too.
The NBA draft is in about an hour away, and for you truly dedicated gamblers, you can throw some bills down on where players will go. Sportsbook.com has these lines as of this posting:
Seven former Pacific 10 Conference players made the NBA Finals this month and seven more -- USC's O.J. Mayo, UCLA's Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook, Stanford's Brook and Robin Lopez, Arizona's Jerryd Bayless and Cal's Ryan Anderson -- are projected to be first-round picks tonight. . . .
Also projected to be a first-round pick is JaVale McGee, a 7-footer from Nevada and son of Pam McGee, who teamed with twin sister, Paula, and Cheryl Miller to lead USC to NCAA women's basketball titles in 1983 and 1984. . . .
Paula at the time was Darryl Strawberry's girlfriend. . . .
Former USC forward Brian Scalabrine of the Boston Celtics wasn't the only bench-riding athlete with Southland ties who donned a uniform for a championship-clinching celebration after a game in which he did not dress. . . .
Ageless defenseman Chris Chelios, who summers in Malibu, did the same with the Detroit Red Wings after sitting out the Stanley Cup finals. . . .
Paola Moreno, a senior on USC's NCAA champion women's golf team this spring, and incoming Trojans freshman Jennifer Song are among the amateurs competing this week in the U.S. Women's Open at Edina, Minn. . . .
Among the seven Pac-10 players in the NBA Finals were Trojans Brian Scalabrine and Gabe Pruitt.
Just over a year ago, Gabe Pruitt announced that he would leave USC early. He ended up going to the Boston Celtics with the second pick of the second round in the NBA draft.
Pruitt hasn't received any playing time in the NBA Finals against the Lakers (nor has fellow Trojan-Celtic Brian Scalabrine), but his name did come up yesterday.
UCLA basketball Coach Ben Howland was addressing the early departure of Luc Richard Mbah a Moute when reporters brought up Pruitt. Howland replied, "Would it have been better for Gabe Pruitt to come back one more year, in retrospect? Probably, 'cause he would have been a definite first-rounder had he come back. As always, hindsight is 20-20."
Clearly a cautionary tale that Davon Jefferson paid no attention to.
Just in case there were any questions, an NCAA rep confirmed today that a player transferring to a new school will immediately count against a team's scholarship limit when the player starts receiving any sort of athletic-based financial aid.
In other words, USC's basketball team has reached the maximum number of scholarships. A potential transfer like Alex Stepheson, even though he would be required to sit out a year, would put the Trojans over the limit -- unless there's a transfer or somebody like Romeo decides he doesn't need to take a scholarship.
With Nikola Vucevic and Leonard Washington coming to USC, that means the Trojans have reached the NCAA basketball scholarship limit for next season. Any additional signings would require a transfer or a player renouncing his scholarship.
Here's a class-by-class breakdown of the 13 scholarships and current walk-ons for 2008-09.
Leonard Washington, a former USC signee who opened up his recruiting last year after he failed to qualify academically, has decided to play for the Trojans next season, said Roy White, Washington's AAU coach.
Washington told The Times last weekend that he was deciding among USC, Indiana and Kentucky. The 6-foot-6 forward spent last season at Compton Marshall High after previously attending high school in Lake Charles, La.
Nikola Vucevic, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward from Simi Valley Stoneridge Prep, confirmed today that he has signed a letter of intent to play for USC next season.
Vucevic, who averaged about 12 points and seven rebounds during his senior season, said he also had scholarship offers from Nevada and Hawaii. The native of Montenegro, who arrived in the United States last October, said USC coaches had been watching him "all year" before he signed late last month.
Barring a transfer or a player renouncing his scholarship, the Trojans have reached their full complement of 13 scholarship players for next season, meaning they are out of the hunt for North Carolina transfer Alex Stepheson and Kentucky transfer Derrick Jasper, both California natives.
Vucevic's father, Borislav, played professionally for 24 years and was a member of the Yugoslavian national team. Vucevic said he would return to Montenegro this summer before starting school at USC during the fall semester.
"I'm really excited," he said. "I can't wait to begin."
Asked what aspects of his game needed the most improvement, Vucevic said he needed to become more athletic and add muscle. He had played on a club team in Montenegro before coming to the United States for his senior year of high school.
Vucevic speaks fluent English only nine months after emigrating from his homeland.
"I knew a little bit of English from the movies and school [in Montenegro], but I learned a lot here," he said.
Nikola Vucevic, a 6-foot-10 senior power forward from Simi Valley Stoneridge Prep, will play for USC next season, according to Stoneridge associate head coach Rob Brooks.
Brooks described Vucevic, who hails from Serbia and Montenegro, as a skilled shooter, passer and rebounder.
"He really was a big-time player for us," Brooks said, "and will be a great fit with all the phenomenal athletes they have" at USC.
USC sophomore guard Ryan Wetherell is recovering at home in Calgary, Canada, after undergoing surgery last month for a life-threatening condition in his neck.
The 5-foot-11 walk-on was struggling to breathe after an abscess in his neck placed pressure on an artery in his throat and caused his chest to swell. He was given antibiotics and underwent surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles to have the abscess removed.
"The doctor said I would have died if they didn't find out about it in time," said Wetherell, who spent a week in the hospital before being released.
Prized USC recruit DeMar DeRozan's SAT score from last month "improved about 80 or 90 points" from his previous score, Compton High Coach Tony Thomas said Wednesday, meaning the McDonald's All-American should be eligible to play for the Trojans next season.
"He's pretty sure he's got enough based upon whatever grades he gets," Thomas said. "He thinks he'll be more than fine."
DeMar's father, Frank DeRozan, said his son had achieved four A's and a B in correspondence courses through Brigham Young University. Such courses are often used to boost high school grade-point averages.
ESPN's Kelly Naqi, who broke the O.J. Mayo scandal last month, had a follow-up story last night. Looks as if they're bringing in the big guns:
Special agents for the FBI and IRS and members of U.S. Attorney's office have launched a joint investigation into "possible income tax evasion and fraud arising from the misuse of charitable organization funds," according to an attorney retained by Louis Johnson, a member of former USC guard O.J. Mayo's inner circle until three months ago.
Anthony Salerno, Johnson's Los Angeles-based attorney, said the scope of the various agencies' investigation is still unclear.
All I can say is "good!" If the allegations against Rodney Guillory are true, he deserves what's coming. If the allegations are false, a spotlight this bright should clear things up pretty quickly.
Last week, I answered a question on the UCLA blog about the height of J'Mison Morgan and pointed out that some players seem to "shrink" between their college and pro bios. This week numbers are coming out from the NBA pre-draft camp, and here's how the USC participants measure up.
The O.J. Mayo measurements are no surprise, but I'm a little confused by the Davon Jefferson line -- can somebody really be the same height in shoes as without them?
School information can be found here, and NBA information can be found here. That second link has a sortable table with a lot of interesting information (if you're a stat geek like me).
In case you were wondering about the aforementioned issues surrounding Leonard Washington, here's a little nugget from a story in the Lexington Herald-Leader in November (the University of Kentucky also has been a possible destination for Washington):
One reader recoiled at the thought of UK adding Leonard Washington to the team. The prospect's reputation has been marred by such incidents as refusing his coach's order to re-enter the Louisiana state championship game, instigating a fracas last summer that police quelled with pepper spray, and being ejected from a game for elbowing an opponent in the face.
Leonard Washington, a former USC signee who opened up his recruiting last year after he failed to qualify academically, said he would announce his college decision early this week.
DeMar DeRozan, the centerpiece of USC's incoming freshman class, said Sunday that he remained committed to the Trojans "as of right now" but would closely monitor a fledgling NCAA investigation into whether former star O.J. Mayo accepted improper benefits.
Former USC basketball players O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson completed their freshman year coursework in good standing, according to associate athletic director Magdi El Shahawy, meaning the Trojans will probably be spared further scholarship losses.
USC lost two scholarships and was issued a formal warning last year after achieving a four-year academic progress rate of 863, which was below the NCAA's minimum acceptable threshold of 925. Barring any transfers, El Shahawy said the school's next four-year average could rise significantly because every player expected to return next season remained academically eligible.
Even though they declared for the NBA draft, Mayo and Jefferson will not hurt the Trojans' APR scores because they are eligible for the NCAA's pro sport retention waiver.
UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and USC's Davon Jefferson have been assigned to Team 6 at the Orlando NBA Pre-Draft camp.
Also on Team 6 are: Brian Butch of Wisconsin, Joey Dorsey of Memphis, George Hill of IUPUI, Joseph Jones of Texas A&M, Marcelus Kemp of Nevada, Shaun Pruitt of Illinois, Sean Singletary of Virginia, and Mike Taylor of Idaho and the NBA D-League.
The team's coach is David Fizdale, a Los Angeles native, a member of the all-West Coast Conference team while a player at San Diego, has been an assistant coach at Fresno State and with the Golden State Warriors, among other places.
-- via Diane Pucin, whose full story will be on latimes.com later tonight --
Amid a controversy over potential NCAA violations and possible extra benefits, O.J. Mayo is doing what he's always done: staying focused, working hard and being a nice guy. Check out this video to hear from Mayo and the man who's training him in Chicago.
Kansas State assistant basketball coach Brad Underwood caused a stir when he told a local Rotary Club meeting that O.J. Mayo wanted to play for the Wildcats, but was shot down by then-head coach Bob Huggins. Mayo's best friend, Bill Walker, played for K-State last season and announced that he will join Mayo as an early entrant in the upcoming NBA draft. Huggins, Walker and Mayo are all originally from West Virginia.
Underwood today indicated that Mayo was saying up to the last minute that he wanted to come to K-State to be with Huggins because of their long ties. Huggins, though, said, "We're not going to take you. You'll never pass," in reference to NCAA amateur clearinghouse rules.
"So it's no surprise that this is coming out now," Underwood said of the scandal. "We knew it."
The irony is that "nothing's going to happen to O.J. Mayo," Underwood said. "It's becoming Southern Cal's problem."
Kansas State spokesman Tom Gilbert issued the following statement,
Neither Kansas State, nor anyone who has been employed by the university, has firsthand knowledge of any improprieties in the recruitment of O.J. Mayo. In his speech to the Rotary group, assistant coach Brad Underwood was speaking in generalities about his recruitment by K-State. We are unaware of any specific instances of NCAA violations involving Mr. Mayo.
Neither Underwood nor Wildcats head coach Frank Martin were available for comment.
Conquest Chronicles is a great USC blog that lends perspective on what's happening in Troy. It's part of a network called SB Nation and recently got a face-lift, making improvements to its functionality. I've been meaning to give the changes a big thumbs up. While I'm at it, I'd like to call attention to a recent post.
One of its contributors, DC Trojan, came up with yet another potential solution to the dysfunctional relationship between the NCAA and NBA (and NFL). I think it's noteworthy that a lot of people in the blogosphere have been coming up with productive, creative ways to address the shortcomings of the current system:
One way in which the NBA and the NFL can help is to institute central oversight of rookie contracts, with rookies represented by contract lawyers from a pool pre-qualified by the leagues. Players can hire an agent for endorsement purposes only after they have completed their contract with the team that drafted them. Agents who are caught attempting to circumvent these league rules become a reason for sanctions on the players who use them - in other words, Ornstein screws up under this rule, the veterans who use him are fined $10,000 a week until they break their relationship with him.
That might not fix everything and there are some feasibility questions on this one (including the NBA players union's role, which is addressed in the post), but it's ideas like this that need to jump from message boards to board rooms.
Unless you're really obsessive about sports media, you may be unaware of Le Anne Schreiber, who serves as ESPN's ombudsman. She's sort of like a reader's representative who works on the inside, trying to the keep the World Wide Leader in check. Something stood out to me in her latest column as she wrote about the O.J. Mayo story that aired on the network's "Outside the Lines":
It was a breakthrough report, impeccably researched, and it is likely to provoke further inquiry into the too-cozy relationship between NCAA basketball programs and the rogue agents chomping to get an early hold on players expected to reap hefty pro contracts after they reach the NBA-mandated age requirement.
No complaints here. The report appears to be exemplary journalism.
Then she addressed an interview with Miguel Tejada that led to the MLB star walking out with the cameras rolling:
Many viewers also took it hard, objecting not to ESPN's uncovering the lie, but to the way it was exposed in a face-to-face interview, with cameras rolling as Tejada, after being asked to state his age, was presented with a birth certificate from the Dominican Republic proving he was two years older than he had just claimed. "Can't you ...?" asked a flustered Tejada, looking at the camera and making a scissors gesture with his fingers. When the questions kept coming, he disentangled himself from the microphone wires and walked out of the interview.
Viewers who wrote me called the interview "sleazy," "sneaky" and "distasteful."
ESPN also approached Mayo with the cameras rolling -- as he walked out of his final news conference as a Trojan. The two situations aren't identical: Mayo is famously difficult to contact and ESPN did not make that a centerpiece of its report. Still, ESPN had Mayo's cellphone number (it was on that bill apparently paid for by Rodney Guillory) and I wonder how much of an effort was made to allow him to respond before the report aired. Mayo has repeatedly said he was surprised by the allegations; ESPN said he declined to comment before the airing of the show.
This isn't to say anything was done incorrectly. I just wanted to point out that this profession isn't always as easy as reporting scores and records. Like the title says ... food for thought.
I've said it before and I'll say it again ... the case that O.J. Mayo got caught with his hand in the cookie jar appears to be strong.
Despite a very earnest and categorical denial Wednesday, there's a long way to go before Mayo can be cleared. To me, the biggest sticking point is that Andy Katz (ESPN) called Mayo on his cellphone, and the bill for that number was apparently paid for by a credit card under Rodney Guillory's name. That seems pretty incriminating, though I'd still love to see those documents released.
Regardless of how this plays out -- even if he took more than $30,000 in extra benefits -- I'd like to be the first one to say that O.J. Mayo is really a great kid.
Except I'm not. Not even close. Reporter after reporter, columnist after columnist, coach after coach, has gone on the record to say that O.J. Mayo is poised, respectful and seems to have great character.
Despite this apparent blemish, all the hype holds true.
If there's one thing that people should take away from today's article it's these two lines:
Mayo had just completed his last school final when he paused to speak to a reporter.
Following the interview, Mayo slipped into a new red Porsche Cayenne GTS with two friends and drove off, saying he was headed to Chicago for workouts in advance of next month's NBA draft.
A Porsche. A posse. Why would O.J. Mayo bother taking a freshman class final? A promise.
A couple of months ago, I heard Mayo reiterate his pledge to Coach Tim Floyd that he would finish the semester. He didn't have to. Heck, the year before three players just stopped going to class.
But that wasn't like Mayo. He finished up, even though technically nothing could make him -- except himself.
That says something about this young man.
It also speaks volumes about the situation that surrounded him. As a high school player, he was 12 months from his first shiny red Porsche. In the interim, USC sold No. 32 basketball jerseys in the bookstore for $75. To put that in perspective, the store sold a football jersey for $15 less -- and it actually came with sleeves.
Mayo was also paid an NCAA-approved monthly stipend of $450 (or six jerseys) and he was expected to keep his nose clean. Maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe the NBA should have let him in earlier or threatened to punish rookies who break these sorts of rules.
There's a great story that Mayo once declined a free cookie because it might be an NCAA violation. But if you give a mouse a cookie ...
The O.J. Mayo situation continues to evolve and has left people with a lot of questions. Over the coming weeks I'll try to break down the situation with an ever-evolving F.A.Q. (frequently asked questions). This is version 1.0. If you're in a rush, I'll boil my opinion down to one sentence:
O.J. Mayo broke the rules and Tim Floyd had better start explaining things.
I'm working on a post called O.J. F.A.Q. 1.0, which will go up soon. In the meantime, here's a clip of me trying to put some perspective on the whole O.J. Mayo situation.
Thanks to "First Take" for having me on this morning. I think I swapped a "Rodney" for "Ronald." I also want to be clear that everything at this stage is a Star Jones special: "allegedly." I used the term a few times but I probably could have used it more. Regardless, I think some of the ESPN discoveries about alleged extra benefits are practically irrefutable. More on that in the FAQ.
There have been a lot of headaches this off season in college hoops. Regardless of how many individuals are at fault, one institution lacking control is the NBA.
A few years ago the suits at the NBA were concerned about their image. Hello, dress code! I have no idea what that solved, but they still haven't adequately addressed a fundamental problem -- one with a bigger influence on how they develop players to represent the league.
The NBA and their farm system the NCAA have a dysfunctional relationship. In a league in which some players have a bad reputation for baby-mama drama, the organization responsible for the league's diaper dandies has been left downright impotent.
Earlier this week I tried to explain to a friend why Nick Young, Gabe Pruitt and Lodrick Stewart bolted for the NBA before finishing their semester at USC in spring 2007 -- costing the school two scholarships.
"Why couldn't they punish the players?" she asked.
I pointed out that no sanction leveled by USC or the NCAA would affect them. As pros, they were already ineligible to play in college. Taking away their scholarships has zero effect because they make six or seven figures per year in the NBA. Plus what are the odds they really want to finish school?
She mused that it's too bad the NBA can't punish them.
Four days later I was telling her why USC and the NCAA had no practical recourse against O.J. Mayo for allegedly receiving $30,000 in illicit benefits.
Again, she mused that it's too bad the NBA can't punish him.
Again, she was right.
The NBA should punish rookies who fail to meet the most basic off-court expectations.
Earlier I mentioned that the written statement released by O.J. Mayo didn't sound like O.J. Mayo. However, these quotes seem a lot more natural:
"I don't know anything about it. It caught me by surprise. I've got to get to L.A. to see what's going on. I'm just focusing on the draft."
"I had no knowledge of anything like that. I'll find our more when I meet with Mr. Duffy and Mr. [Calvin] Andrews [of BDA]," Mayo said.
When asked specifically if he received any money from Guillory, Mayo said, "No sir, I did not receive any money from Calvin or Rodney or anything. It all caught me by surprise."
"I would just like to know if I did [get money] where did the money go. I was a struggling college student like everyone else. I bicycled to class. The truth will come out, even though the perception is reality."
I've been around Mayo on quite a few occasions, though always in some sort of basketball arena. He's very composed. He strikes me as a good kid. It's entirely possible that he's wrongfully getting his name dragged through the mud.
At the same time, ESPN was very diligent in its reporting, going so far as to check with employees at clothing stores that Mayo allegedly frequented. USC has had previous bad experiences with Guillory. There's a lot of investigating yet to be done.
ESPN is reporting that O.J. Mayo received about $30,000 in improper benefits during his time at USC. Allegedly, the agency he signed with after leaving USC, Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management, has been funneling him money for years through a close friend named Rodney Guillory. A former member of O.J.'s posse, Louis Johnson, is now spilling his guts after being estranged from the inner circle since March.
When Mayo was in high school in Ohio and West Virginia, Guillory was receiving monthly payments from the Northern California sports agency Bill Duffy Associates. Johnson said BDA provided Guillory with around $200,000 before Mayo arrived at USC, and that Guillory used most of the money to support his own lifestyle but also gave a portion of it to Mayo.
In exchange for the payments and gifts, Mayo entered into a verbal agreement to allow BDA represent him when he turned pro, Johnson told "Outside the Lines."
Providing athletes with money or other benefits is a violation, according to NCAA rules. In California, it's a misdemeanor for sports agents and their representatives to provide cash or gifts to student-athletes.
Johnson supplied expense receipts and money transfer orders to corroborate his account. Johnson seems to be the only one talking, but you can see statements from everybody else in the video above. After the jump is a video from ESPN's "Outside the Lines," which aired the story Sunday morning after a four-month investigation.
In August 2007, a few days before the fall semester began at the University of Southern California, freshman basketball guard O.J. Mayo decided he needed some new clothes for school. His friends, Louis Johnson and Rodney Guillory, picked him up in Guillory's black Infiniti SUV and soon they were at a mall in Carson, Calif., picking out thousands of dollars of clothing.
The story goes on to talk about a flat screen TV, cellphones, meals and airline tickets.
A source close to the basketball program confirmed that Leonard Washington will enroll in summer school and play for the Trojans next season.
Washington signed with USC in November 2006 but didn't qualify academically and opened up his recruiting before deciding to stick with his original commitment. He gives USC another inside presence to go with Taj Gibson and is said to be a fierce rebounder even though he's only 6 foot 6.
The Trojans lost two men's basketball scholarships thanks to a low score in the Academic Progress Report, but it had nothing to do with the early departures of O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson.
The scholarships were actually cut this past season, 2007-08, because of previous low APR scores. It wasn't too evident on the court because the team had a number of walk-ons (including Daniel Hackett, whose tuition is covered by the school because his father is an employee of USC) and only 11 scholarships were handed out.
By the time things are sorted out this year, the school could be back up to 13 scholarships -- the full complement allowed by the NCAA.
USC was one of only four penalized teams to make the NCAA tournament.
USC was informed of the punishment in the fall and given the option of taking the hit this last season or next season. The school decided to take the hit sooner rather than later.
The lost scholarships were a result of Gabe Pruitt, Lodrick Stewart and Nick Young not attending classes after the 2006-07 season.
USC officials are optimistic that things will improve next year because Mayo and Jefferson did complete their classes this semester. Kyle Austin transferred, but that will not affect the team because of a new NCAA rule that allows a player with at least a 2.6 GPA to transfer to another 4-year institution.
I was waiting on the NBA to release the official list of players declaring for the NBA draft before posting the final departures here, but the league just said the list won't come out until Thursday or Friday.
Taj Gibson's father, Wilbert, told L.A. Times reporter Ben Bolch that the USC forward will return for his junior season. Click here for the full story.
Fox Sports is reporting that Davon Jefferson is entering the NBA draft and will hire Arn Tellem as an agent. That's about all to the story right now. Draft Express has him going 5th in the second round, and NBADraft.net will probably update its list on Monday (it currently has him going in 2009).
Though the losses of O.J. Mayo (who declared a few weeks ago) and Jefferson will be tough, retaining Gibson is huge for the basketball team -- literally. At 6'10", he's the largest and most physical of USC's experienced players. Had he left for the NBA, you might have seen a lot of small lineups and some fast-paced ball. If he keeps on pace, Gibson could leave USC on top of the school's career blocked-shot list.
Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo came to Los Angeles on the covers of magazines. They'll drift away (unless the Clippers draft one of them) on the airwaves. Set to the tune of -- you guessed it -- "Love and Marriage," it's time for "Love and Mayo."
Dick Banks is the man behind the music. He creates a lot of great parodies for the "Dave Dameshek Show" on 710 ESPN (weekdays 4 to 7 p.m.).
In a column this weekend, Bill Plaschke argues that college basketball is suffering under the current system in which insta-stars spend only one year in school before bouncing to the NBA.
Would college basketball be better if all those one-and-done freshmen were once again allowed to go from high school to the pros? Thus leaving the college game for the kids who will at least spend a couple of years in college and allow for the building of a system and the continuation of a tradition? I vote yes and yes.
Right now, guys like O.J. Mayo don't really have a choice. Heralded incoming freshman DeMar DeRozan also looks like a one-and-done. Tim Floyd has suggested that he might rethink signing such players if they will hurt the team's APR (academic progress rate) and, as a result, number of scholarships.
The NBA probably won't change anything, but college coaches do have the choice to say no to a player who may threaten the team concept and APR. On the other hand, these guys are really, really good.
Our friends at the Dave Dameshek Show on 710 ESPN just passed us this interview with O.J. Mayo. In it, Sideline Reporter Sarah cuts to the chase on everything from NBA analysis (Kobe for MVP) to upcoming purchases (house for mom) to the best part of college (frat row). There's something for everybody to love!
The interview runs just over 3 minutes. You can catch more Dameshek from 4-7 p.m. weekdays on 710 AM.
In case you missed it, Mark Sanchez was named starting quarterback. I relegated this to Hot Links because it wasn't exactly news to anybody except Mitch Mustain. That's no knock against Mitch -- he needs to keep that mentality all the way into the fall to keep competing and trying to pass Sanchez for the starting job. Ultimately, the first game is a long way away.
Now that the quarterback race has cooled off, time to focus on the really interesting logjam: tailbacks.
Sunday Morning QB's "Absurdly Premature Assessment" series has tackled USC's first opponent: Virginia.
After an impressive showing in the McDonald's All-American slam dunk contest a few weeks ago, top USC hoops recruit DeMar DeRozan has taken his game to the international level.
With 17 points, DeRozan was the leading scorer in Saturday's Nike Hoop Summit. He added three steals, two rebounds and one assist. The annual all-star game pits the top American high school players against the best under-19 international players. This year's contest was held in Portland and ended in a 98-78 win for the U.S.
It was a unique experience for the Compton superstar. After the game he told reporters,
The World Team was big so it was hard for us to go to the hole and we had to adjust. In international rules we can knock the ball off the rim so we had to adjust and get a couple of steals and just run them. We did a good job and we got a win for USA.
Four of DeRozan's USA teammates will be playing at UCLA next season: Drew Gordon, Jrue Holiday, Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson.
