Judge Says: Pass the Mayo

Although we’ve had our gripes about east coast bias and the Gray Lady in particular, it’s clear that the New York media know their basketball.

Rather than jump the gun on this O.J. Mayo matter, the New York Times waited for the story to develop and, as we did here earlier, allowed the inevitable video evidence to appear, in an effort to ensure accuracy in its reporting.

Even better, Pete Thamel provided the proper context in the lead of his story on Mayo in yesterday’s Times, along with some quotes from people who actually know what they’re talking about:

O. J. Mayo, a West Virginia high school senior considered the country’s best guard prospect since LeBron James, has been suspended and is not expected to play tonight in a national showdown game.

Mayo’s team, Huntington High School, ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today, will play No. 11 Artesia High School of Lakewood, Calif., in the Hoophall Classic in Durham, N.C.

More than 5,000 fans are expected at [Duke's] Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game is part of a tripleheader featuring some of the best high school teams in the country. […]

“It’s an amazingly bizarre story,” said Dave Elkins, the director of marketing partnerships for the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is putting on today’s event. “This is the team that’s making so much history in that region.

“To have something like this come up, it’s intriguing.”

Most importantly, Thamel relies on his own eyes, rather than second-hand accounts, using the video to help provide an objective interpretation of what happened.

Mayo picked up his first technical foul for taunting after a dunk late in the second half of Friday’s victory against Charleston’s Capital High School, the No. 2-ranked team in the state. Mayo caught the ball after it went through the net and strutted toward the free-throw line still holding the ball.

After being whistled for the technical, he walked to midcourt, where players from both teams had gathered and were jawing. Mayo then walked away, tucking in his shirt and looking at the sky.

The second technical was called after Mayo walked back toward the players gathered at halfcourt. On the video, he did not appear to say or do anything.

But when the official Mike Lazo walked over to the scorer’s table to report the technical, Mayo followed him. Mayo appeared to make subtle contact with Lazo, his shoulder brushing up against Lazo’s back. Lazo then dropped suddenly to the ground. On the video, it appears that little contact was made and that Lazo’s fall was exaggerated.

Apparently, Thamel isn’t the only one who thinks the ref’s fall was “exaggerated,” as a circuit court judge in West Virginia yesterday ordered an injunction that allowed Mayo to play in the HoopHall Classic at Duke.

According to USA Today’s Christopher Lawlor, Mayo, “considered the nation’s top player,” drove with a family friend for six hours to get to Durham, just in time to “spark” his team to a 73-66 win. Combined with a loss yesterday by the nation’s current No. 1 team (St. Benedict’s of Newark, N.J.) the win should give Mayo’s Huntington High the No. 1 spot next week.

The funny thing is Mayo fouled out of last night’s game with 2:40 left and the score tied at 63. So, we can’t be sure what Lawlor means by “spark,” but I’d say Mayo must be one helluva good player if he can “spark” his team to a win against another nationally ranked team without even playing in the game.

Then again, I don’t know a lick about hoops.

Fight On!

UPDATE: Insomniac's Lounge has yet another take, not to mention a second and third camera angle, pulled from ESPN's PTI. The best part of the clip is Michael Wilbon's comments about Mayo's behavior. Again, we'll see for ourselves soon enough.
.

O.J. Mayo: Not So Fast My Friend

As we concluded yesterday, none of us really know what the hell happened when USC's top-ranked basketball recruit O.J. Mayo was ejected from a high school game last Friday night.

But now we have video -- worthy of another Zapruder film reference -- which brings into question the "thug" label being placed on Mayo by those who are supposed to know their hoops.

Take a good look at the clip, from WSAZ Channel 3, the local Huntington, W.Va., TV news station.

Do you see Mayo taunting and jawing excessively with the opposing team and their fans? And, how in the world does a grown man fall to the ground as a result of the supposed contact Mayo made with the ref?

Judging from what we see in this clip -- and again, we don't know what was said or what else happened at this game -- it appears that Mayo may have a right to be upset about the double-technical called on him. In fact, one might conclude from this video that Mayo showed restraint, given all that was going on around him, and that perhaps he deserves the benefit of some doubt.

Make no mistake. The the opinion here remains that Mayo could be coming to USC for the wrong reasons, but perhaps everyone should step back and see this kid first-hand, in action on and off the court, before we fully form our conclusions.

In the meantime, we've got this highlight clip of the game in question, which shows us what all the on-court hype is about.


I guess they don't play much defense in West Virginia.

Fight On!

Hat Tip: AO via Conquest Chronicles.
.

USC Hoops: One Year Wondering

Again, I have to ask: Is this how we're supposed to build a basketball program?

Apparently, USC's prized basketball recruit O.J. Mayo got himself caught up in a little on-court, two-technical foul incident that may put him on his high school team's bench for a couple games.

Here's the second-hand account in today's Los Angeles Times:

USC signee O.J. Mayo faces a two-game suspension after being ejected from a game Friday night involving his Huntington (W.Va.) High team in which he received two technical fouls and reportedly initiated contact with an official.

Mayo received one technical foul for taunting after scoring on a breakaway dunk, then a second technical for a verbal confrontation with players from the opposing team.

Mayo reportedly followed an official to the scorer's table to dispute the call and made contact, after which the official dropped to the court.

The opposing team's local paper has a slighly different account, but the The Huntington Herald-Dispatch (W. Va.) reported this:

Mayo received the first technical foul for taunting Capital player Tyrone Goard after a breakaway dunk that gave Huntington a 61-43 lead with 5:15 left in the game. Mayo did not react to the call and walked to the opposite end of the court but was followed by Capital players. A verbal confrontation escalated between Mayo and Capital players before Lazo assessed the second technical foul to Mayo but none to a Capital player. After the second technical foul, Mayo followed Lazo to the scorer's table to object. When the referee stopped, Mayo bumped into him from behind, and then Lazo fell to the ground.

Whatever. We weren't there, and the newspaper and radio accounts of what actually happened are supposedly varied, so who's to say what actually happened. We don't know whether or not Mayo had a legitimate reason to jaw with the opposing players and fans, and we don't know to what extent he made contact with the official.

What we do know is that Mayo will most likely be one-and-done after next season ... a year in which he supposedly thinks he can bring USC to national prominenance the way Patrick Ewing did at Georgetown.

We also know that USC head coach Tim Floyd didn't actually recruit Mayo. The kid decided that he wanted to become a Trojan, thinking that Los Angeles would be a good place to market himself for his entry into the League.

As Tom Purfield of the Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftan pointed out recently, Mayo appears to be a basketball mercenary.

Scanning the wire every working day in this profession reveals many eyebrow-raising stories. But every once in awhile, something small emerges that sheds light on a larger issue in the world of sport.

When Mayo signed his letter of intent to attend USC in November, his comments in an Associated Press story were striking, not so much for their arrogance but for the role he expects USC to play in his life.

"Coach (Tim) Floyd has been an NBA coach and the city of Los Angeles is a great marketing city," Mayo said. "Hopefully if everything goes well, I can market myself for the next level.

"I plan on making a living at this," Mayo said in another AP story. "I feel that's why I was born and put on this Earth, to be a leader, to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever play and to be a great example and role model for the kids and for different people out there who look up toward me."

[...] No excitement about becoming a part of the Southern Cal community. Not even a hint of plans to major in political science or economics.

It's all about making this one year of exclusion from the millionaire club of the NBA as productive as possible - not for the Trojans, mind you, but for O.J. Mayo's pro hoops future.

Leave it to someone who "scans the wire" for news because there is none in his own town to point out what many of us seem to be missing ... this Mayo kid may not be worthy of our Trojan Family.

Remember when Harold Miner (aka Baby Jordan) left USC early to begin his ill-fated career in the NBA? Remember Dwayne Jarrett's presser a few weeks ago announcing his early entry into the NFL?

They were crying, torn up emotionally because they were leaving USC. And we've seen it in other Trojans who understood what it meant to be part of the Trojan Family, what it means to be a Trojan for life.

We'll see what Mayo does, if and when he gets to USC. We don't know him well enough to pass judgement on him just yet. But something ... a few things actually ... tell us Mayo won't be crying when he leaves.

Fight On!
.

Finally ... 2006 Ends Tonight

Wait a minute … it’s still college football season?

With all the media hype anointing USC Football No. 1 for 2007, after the Trojans’ dismantling of Michigan in the Rose Bowl one week ago, it’s easy to forget that the 2006 season didn’t end on Jan. 1. It’s been an interesting week …

As predictable as the Sugar Bowl was – what with the “Irish” losing their record ninth straight bowl game – the GMAC and International “bowls” this weekend were not predictable at all … like a tree falling in the forest, how can we make a prediction about something no one saw, let alone cared about in the first place.

Perhaps we were distracted from this last part of the bowl season by our lovely Song Girls … that is, one in particular who had every blogger’s panties in a bunch, so to speak.

Maybe we’ve been pre-occupied trying to get our heads around Boise State … Boise State … playing David to Oklahoma’s Goliath in one of the most exciting and imaginative bowl games in recent memory.

It could be that USC fans have been anticipating another No. 1 recruiting class, with at least eight Trojan commits playing (and shining) in the high school U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday.

And even I know it’s possible that USC Basketball took our attention away from the bowl season? I hear the team is worth watching, even as we wait for this O.J. Mayo kid.

Of course, I can’t be sure about that, since again I don’t know jack about round ball. But, any time the basketball Trojans win two games, while historically tainted ugla is forced to explain away a loss, that’s got to be good, right?

Whatever. One game left, before USC Football can officially move on to 2007. As for me, I’m already there …

Fight On! Beat the Vandals!
.