O.j. Mayo
J." Mayo (born November 5, 1987 in Huntington, West Virginia), is an American basketball player currently with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. As an athlete at Huntington High School and North College Hill High School in Cincinnati, he was considered by several media outlets to be the best high school basketball player in the United States.
He chose to enter the 2008 NBA Draft instead of completing his three remaining years of college eligibility; when he chose Bill Duffy and Associates as his agency, he lost his NCAA eligibility.
He was taken third overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves on June 26, 2008. Following the draft, Minnesota traded him and three other players to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Kevin Love and three players.
Mayo was a part of the 2008 U.S. Select Team to help get the Olympic Team ready for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
High school
"Mayo commuted across the West Virginia/Kentucky border for grade school to attend Rose Hill Christian School in Ashland, Ky.
He averaged 23.1 points for the varsity team while in seventh grade and received his first recruiting letter. Mayo then moved to Cincinnati to live with his "adopted grandfather" and AAU coach Dwaine Barnes and enrolled at NCH, where his arrival was broadcast live on the local television stations."
The 18 year-old junior guard was selected as Mr.
Basketball of Ohio for the second consecutive season, in addition to being named Associated Press Division III Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He also led his team to three consecutive AP poll titles and garnered much attention from the media, appearing in the pages of Sports Illustrated among other publications.
Mary High School), LeBron James, Mayo drew large enough crowds to force his team into seeking larger venues to support the growing crowds, and often attracted National Basketball Association stars such as James and Carmelo Anthony to watch his games playing for the D-1 Greyhounds.
In February 2006, Mayo attracted the largest crowd to ever see a high school game in Cincinnati, Ohio. 16,500 fans watched North College Hill fall to the nation's number one rated team, Oak Hill Academy. Mayo had been considered a lock to make the leap straight from high school to the NBA, but the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NBA and its players instituted a rule that a player must be at least a year out of high school before he can enter the NBA, effectively curtailing those plans.
On July 5, 2006, it was reported by ESPN that he would attend USC. On July 8, however, WSAZ-TV reported that USC was only one of three colleges that Mayo was considering: the other two being Kansas State University and the University of Florida.
On August 27, 2006, WSAZ-TV reported that Mayo enrolled at Huntington High School in Huntington, West Virginia for the 2006–07 school year. He formally committed to USC in November 2006.
In January 2007, Mayo allegedly assaulted referee Mike Lazo after being ejected from a Huntington High game vs. However, due to allegations supported by video evidence that Lazo had overreacted and faked the incident, a temporary restraining order was signed by Cabell County Circuit Court Judge Dan O'Hanlan, temporarily lifting the suspensions on Mayo and five other players suspended due to incidents at that game. However, shortly after, the restraining order was nullified and Mayo was suspended for three games, a punishment that Mayo described as "fair."
On March 9, 2007, Mayo and three other men were cited by the Cabell County Sheriff's Dept.
Officers found the cannabis in a car in which Mayo was a passenger and, since no one claimed possession, all occupants were ticketed. Charges against Mayo were dropped on March 12, 2007 after one of the other passengers in the vehicle took responsibility for the marijuana.
Mayo was selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association as the 2007 recipient of Bill Evans Award for the state's boys basketball player of the year. Mayo led the state in scoring for the 2006–2007 season at 28.4 points per game.
Runner-up in the voting was teammate Patrick Patterson.
On March 17, 2007, Mayo led Huntington High School to its third consecutive Class AAA basketball championship in the state of West Virginia with 103–61 rout of South Charleston. In his final moments with a minute left in the game, Mayo threw the ball off the backboard from the free-throw line, caught it in midair, and dunked.
He then threw the ball deep into the stands and held up three fingers, a reference to Huntington High's three-straight basketball state championships.
He graduated in May 2007 and signed a letter of intent to enroll at USC. He scored a 29 on the ACT, placing him in the 95th percentile nationally
College
Mayo had given Kansas State a soft verbal commitment to play for them, but retracted it when head coach Bob Huggins announced he would take the same position at West Virginia.
Former teammate at North College Hill High School Bill Walker opted to stay and play for Martin.
Mayo enrolled at the University of Southern California in Summer 2007, taking two classes. While waiting for the season to begin, he began playing pickup basketball against current NBA players Kobe Bryant, Sam Cassell, Kevin Garnett, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., D.J. Both Mayo and Love were selected to the All Pac-10 tournament team.
The report states that Mayo received the gifts from Rodney Guillory before and during his tenure at USC. Guillory is said to have received the money from the Bill Duffy Associates Sports Management (BDA). On May 2, 2008, Mayo cut ties with BDA.
Mayo was selected 3rd overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Throughout his rookie season, Mayo had scored 30 or more points 7 times.
Mayo was the runner-up for the 2008–09 NBA Rookie of the Year Award, finishing second behind Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
as of May 8, 2009
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