Mayo really did turn himself into a good player this year. He's not a PG yet, but could develop into one. More likely a scorer with good vision. Either way, he should be a sweet player... and has an NBA-ready physique pretty much
Exactly, he was a very very good freshman. But compared to the entire talent pool, he was an above average player (current talent only, not potential), and that's not what the media promised us. Everyone expects a Carmelo Anthony story with that kind of hype. I do agree with the "something clicked and now he's much better" idea, but not that he's currently underrated.
I'm not sure Mayo will ever be an NBA PG. He doesn't have the instincts like Brandon Roy. In his wildest dreams Mayo will become another Gilbert Arenas. You never know but I don't see that happening. Mayo will not plummet in the draft like Gerald Green, who was a phony baloney. This is why his agent wouldn't let Green workout against other draftees. Mayo had a very good freshman year at USC and that, by itself, vets him beyond Green. If Gerald Green had played in college, he would have been exposed as a fraud. This is why I like the one year in college thing and don't think a 2nd year is needed.
OJ Mayo is Steve Francis, if Steve Francis was big enough to play shooting guard on an every day basis. He can play the point, but you probably don't want him too. On the wing he can be a dangerous slasher, and get his teammates involved as well.
but he can shoot, as much grief as people gave about steve playing sg because of his size, the real reason he couldn't play it is becuase he couldn't spot up and hit a jumpshot. mayo can
I think you guys are overestimating OJ Mayo's "hype" coming in. He was 3rd or 4th on scout.com and 3rd at Rivals. Which is about right. I never really heard anyone claim he was the next Lebron except for a knucklehead or two at ESPN. Of course the media is gonna jump through hoops to slurp USC and make them relevant. But I didn't see too many worthy publications claiming him to be stupid good.
OJ Mayo sucks. Three years from now, no one will remember OJ Mayo. Somebody quote me on this and put it in their signature.
nbadraft.net NBA Comparison: Stephon Marbury/Ben Gordon Strengths: Extremely talented lead guard who routinely makes highlight plays ... Possesses great all around skills ... A fierce competitor. Plays the game with a tremendous amount of confidence, desire and intensity ... The game comes very easily to him. His feel for the game is advanced for a high school level player ... Strong one on one player with creative drives to the basket ... Has legitimate lead guard skills, with a yo yo handle, and solid passing ability ... Has the go-to scoring ability to take over late in games ... Plays a very physical style and loves to take the ball to the hole ... Very strong physically, able to overpower most point guards ... Prone to big scoring outbursts ... A strong defender who can become a lock down type of defender with his great reflexes and foot speed ... Shoots well from outside, setting up his dribble drive ... His first step off the dribble is off the charts ... Weaknesses: The biggest progression he can make to his game is becoming a complete point guard ... Sometimes attacks the game 1-on-5 and forgets about the team game. Must get better at keeping everyone involved and running a team ... He's 6-4 which is excellent size for a PG, but he lacks the ceiling of someone such as LeBron because he isn't able to impose his will physically on bigger players ... Can be too enamored with shooting the three ball and going to the basket, his mid range game is solid but can improve ... Some feel that his development has slowed to an extent towards the end of his high school career ... Had an off court incident, fighting with another student, which raised some red flags, but behavior doesn't seem to be a major issue ... There's the fear that the AAU mentality might overwhelm the concept of team basketball for him ... He benefits being a year older than most of the players in his class ... Notes: Has been at the head of his class since Elementary school (since rankings were being put out on his class) ... Like LeBron before him, OJ Mayo became a household name as an underclassman in high school. Decided to transfer back home to play his senior year at Huntington High School along with Patrick Patterson. to me, i like what im reading.
I prefer the scouting reports on draftexpress. In their player comparisons, they say OJ Mayo's best case scenario is Chauncey Billups and his worst case scenario is Joe Forte. I think he'll likely be somewhere in between, but I just can't imagine him ever being as good as Chauncey Billups was in his prime Detroit years. I have a much easier time believing he can be as good as Billups was early in his career. If you want to check out the rest of their scouting report on Mayo, you can check it out here: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/O.J.-Mayo-238/
Just thought I would bump this thread with all of the news about Mayo today http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3390695
